Bulgarian Lavender

Lavender has been used as a perfume and incense ingredient since ancient Egypt, and by the eighteenth century it had become a cornerstone of Europe's burgeoning perfumery trade. Bulgaria's near-century-long tradition in lavender cultivation began to take shape in the early twentieth century, accelerating through the latter half of the century as state agricultural programs promoted essential oil production. The country's lavender industry expanded rapidly in the 1990s and 2000s as producers adopted modern farming techniques and disease-resistant varieties. Bulgaria overtook France as the world's leading lavender oil producer in the early 2010s, a shift driven partly by disease problems that ravaged French lavender crops. Today Bulgaria grows approximately 40,000 acres of lavender, supplying the majority of the world's fine fragrance industry.