Snails don''t move so fast but breeding them is rapidly becoming a lucrative business for Bulgarian farmers. They are cashing in on a growing appetitie for the gastropods in other parts of Europe. Fast breeding snails are helping the country crawl out of the economic doldrums following the collapse of communism two decades ago. These little creatures, Helix Aspersa Maxima, the common brown snail, are bound for other markets. The French love of l''escargots is legendary, but they are also frequently found on menus in Italy, Spain and elsewhere. Snail farmer Stancho Totov started his business in 2002 with a keen eye on the export potential of his slimy crop: "The snails we breed and sell are mostly destined for export for other EU countries such as Spain, Italy, France. We also have Bulgarian clients for baby snails, with the growing interest in Heliciculture (snail farming) in our country, although their share is very small." Totov has a master''s degree in economics, but that wasn''t enough for him to find a suitable job, so he decided to look for a partner and a piece of land and move into the emerging snail business. Snails are prolific breeders, making the breeder''s job that much easier. All land snails are hermaphrodites, producing both sperm and eggs. When they mate, the ritual courtship of pairs can go on for up to 12 hours, before mutual insemination. The resulting broods contain up to 100 eggs. Stancho Totov''s 5.3 hectare breeding ground is so productive that he''s now investing in machinery to extract the lucrative snail caviar. Snail caviar is very different from traditional sturgeon caviar. Its cream coloured pearls have a mild flavour and fetch a market price of around Euro 70 (USD 100 dollars) per ounce. Major cosmetics brands also shell out millions of dollars each year to get enough extract of the snail''s secretion which contains important ingredients used in anti-ageing creams. Demand for gourmet snails in Paris, Rome and Madrid is near record highs again after a dip during the worldwide economic slump of recent years. That has helped push pushed exports to nearly 1,000 tons per year - a fivefold increase since 2007, according to official estimates. Totov and his business partner, pioneers in this new Bulgarian business, have expanded production to nearly 100 tons of snails per season. Agriculture accounts for 5.3 percent of Bulgarian GDP, and snail breeding has opened good prospects for many farmers, helping them to survive the economic downturn. But snail breeding is a labour-intensive and time-consuming business. For workers like Tsanko Stankov having a job, outdoors, is the main thing: "Six years ago I started working here, roughly. Our job is not so hard, it''s an open air factory, it''s all out in the field." In spring, selected breeder snails mate and lay eggs in the reproduction room. After hatching, baby snails are moved to the "kindergarten" for around three months before being transferred to the outdoor fattening areas covered with clover - the snails favourite feast. Some of Totov''s facilities have been funded from the European Union, which Bulgaria joined in 2007. Snail breeders are eligible to apply for some of the Euro 3.2 (b) billion (USD 4.5 (b) billion) Bulgaria can use until 2013 under a development programme for agriculture. Autumn is the harvest season and Totov expects a good yield. The price for live snails is expected to be Euro 3 (USD 4.2 dollars) per kilogramme. Around 80 tons of Totov''s snails are exported, mainly to Italy, France and Spain. Another 30 million baby snails will be exported to Greece and to smaller farms in Bulgaria for processing. Overall Bulgarian snail farmers export up to 1,000 tons of snails each year. wacky You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/5f9e044d7dd9d6692b77605bad969d8b Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 30 Jul 2015
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