THE BIOECONOMY DURING A COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE CASE OF BULGARIA AND LITHUANIA
Abstract
The bioeconomy is seen by the EU as an important part of the idea of achieving sustainable development that is carbon neutral and is accompanied by technological modernization and resource efficiency. For that reason, the European Commission has formed a strategy for its development, with the separate Member States having each adopted their own documentary approach towards it. The aim of the present article is to examine the resilience of the bioeconomy to the emergence of a health risk (COVID-19) by tracking the changes in production in some of its sectors. The methodology includes a case study of the bioeconomic peculiarities of two EU Member States – Bulgaria and Lithuania. The level of resilience is tested through a comparison of quantitative data. Contrary to the expectations of a slow recovery of the national economies, the main branches of the food industry show stabilitz. They can rely on their ability to meet the demand for reorientation of the participants in the agri-food chain towards local goods, which provides an opportunity for the implementation of sustainable development practices.
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References
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