(SofiaGlobe) - Vinaria, the annual exhibition of the vine and wine industry, has opened at the International Fair Plovdiv and continues until February 28 2016.

The exhibition, billed as the industry’s largest event in the Balkans, is under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, in partnership with the National Vine and Wine Chamber.

Part of the exhibition is the traditional wine competition, with foreign entrants numbering 30 per cent this year.

Radoslav Kanev of the Vine and Wine Executive Agency said that close to 200 000 tons of grapes had been processed last year and 136 million litres of wine produced, with 50 million litres exported.

Kanev noted that this year’s Vinaria was being attended by representatives of the Russian vine and wine union, which he saw as a chance to restore the level of wine exports to that country.