Global Trade Alert

On 22 October 2013, the National Assembly of Bulgaria adopted a resolution imposing a moratorium on ownership of agricultural land by foreigners until the end of 2019.
 
On 3 April 2014, this measure was followed by an amendment to the Act on Ownership and Use of Agricultural Land, thereby barring foreign natural or legal persons from outside the EU - including offshore companies - from owning arable land, unless they have lived / been incorporated in Bulgaria for at least five years and declare income upon purchase.
 
The status of natural and legal persons from EU member states (who were also affected by the October 2013 moratorium) was resolved on 28 January 2014, when Bulgaria's Constitutional Court overturned the moratorium for EU citizens for violating EU law.
 
The main foreign investors in agricultural land in Bulgaria are from Turkey, Israel and China. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have also expressed potential interest in buying bigger agricultural parcels.