Bulgaria's Loss of Goods' Counterfeiting is Over BGN 800 Million Per Year

Annual losses from counterfeiting and piracy of goods in 11 major economic sectors in Bulgaria amounted to BGN 809 million. This shows a report by the European Union Office for Intellectual Property, distributed to the media.

The sectors studied are: cosmetics and personal hygiene; clothing, footwear and accessories; Sport goods; toys and games; jewelery and watches; handbags and luggage; music recordings; spirits and wines; pharmaceutical products; pesticides; smartphones.

According to the analysis, the losses of 809 million leva represent 15.5% of the sales in Bulgaria in the 11 sectors. The total value of unrealized sales in the country is BGN 113 per Bulgarian citizen per year. Losses in the European Union reach 117 billion leva each year.

The five sectors with the most unsuccessful sales in Bulgaria are pharmaceuticals (302 million leva), clothing and footwear (199 million leva), spirits and wines (113 million leva), cosmetics (108 million leva) and pesticides (BGN 26 million). Total lost jobs amount to nearly 18,000.

This is the second sectoral assessment of the economic impact of counterfeiting and piracy in key economic sectors known to be vulnerable to infringements of intellectual property rights published by the IP Office.

The survey estimates that since the first analysis in 2018, unrealized sales have decreased in all EU-surveyed sectors, except for two - apparel, footwear and accessories, and cosmetics and personal hygiene.