State-owned Tianjin Food Group will celebrate harvests in both its domestic and Bulgarian projects in October.

Company insiders said that its farmland in Parvomay, Plovdiv region, Bulgaria, will see its highest harvest in recent four years.

The volume of paddy rice will grow by 23 percent compared with last year to hit 500 kilograms per mu, or 8,208 kilograms per hectare.

In the farmlands the company plants paddy rice, oilseed, sunflower and corn and provides for professional experts to support planting.

Local farmers this year are surprised at the bumper harvest.

The company in May 2011 founded a subsidiary in the southeastern European country. To date, its investment has hit $58.66 million in the country.

Its major businesses include agricultural plantations and international trade.

Until this year, the farmland it manages hit 7,600 hectares.

The company now has 63 local and 10 Chinese employees on job rotation.

Chinese employees mainly provide technological support and services to help secure and improve local production.

Three local managers – Georgi Georgiev, Nina Shopova and Mancho Dimitrov – have been trained by Chinese staff members.

They told China Daily that Tianjin Food Group has provided leading technologies, significantly improving the quality and quantity of production.

"The Chinese methods have improved our knowledge in management and income and created new job opportunities," local farmers said.

China and Bulgaria in August 2013 signed a trade treaty on corn exports and in May 2017, China built an agricultural model zone in the country, which was led by Tianjin Food Group.

In the last two years, 20 scientific and technological organizations have taken part in research and development in the zones.

A model forage plant, rose and amyris production center, and an e-commerce logistics and expo center have all been built in the region.

To date, Chinese companies have invested up €60 million ($66.3 million), creating up to 600 job opportunities in the country.

"Based in Bulgaria, Tianjin Food Group will beef up more efforts in the Belt and Road Initiative, contribute more to the model agricultural zone and boost full industrial chain development," said the group's CEO, Zhang Yong.