AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION COOPERATIVES IN BULGARIA EVOLUTION, PRESENT STATUS, PROBLEMS AND POSSIBILITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT

In the transition period of Central and Eastern European countries to market economy the cooperative enterprise appears a mean, which tries to fill the institution's vacuum in the rural sectors of these countries. In addition to the problems that the agricultural production cooperatives had faced in the socialist period, the new economic conditions created new ones that the cooperatives in the former socialist countries will have to overcome. The object of this paper is to examine the evolution of Agricultural Production Cooperatives during the transition from centrally planned to market economy, the problems standing in the way of their development, their advantages and shortcomings, restricted production structure imposed by the macroeconomic environment, as well as their opportunities to suit the country's economic conditions. The paper considers the current status of the Agricultural Production Cooperatives and generalizes the main problems referring to their organization and management, investment process, etc. The possibilities for overcoming these problems are also analyzed and conclusions are derived about the lines of their development.