요약
In an interview, Vladimir Lambrev, the chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, noted that there was ''a downward trend'' in both exports and imports. ''I am pessimistic about our ability to retain the standard of living,'' he said.
Another serious foreign trade problem facing Bulgaria is commerce with the Soviet Union, far and away its largest partner and its principal supplier of petroleum products. Even five years ago, under the regime of Todor Zhivkov, who was ousted in November, the Soviet Union was complaining bitterly about the shoddy goods it received from Bulgaria in exchange for oil and ores. Tied to U.S.S.R. Now the Soviet Union is insisting that Bulgaria pay in hard currency for Soviet raw materials, starting next year. And Mr. Lambrev said Bulgaria had no alternative. ''We are absolutely connected to the Soviet Union,'' he remarked. ''We have 6 billion to 7 billion leva in exports to the Soviet Union annually.''
''We hope to have maybe 40 percent of prices liberalized by the end of the year,'' Mr. [Andrei Lukanov] said, adding that Bulgaria was embarking on the establishment of ''a national currency market'' as a step toward making the leva convertible.