Doing Business in Pazardzhik

The Pazardzhik Economy

The Institute for Market Economics groups Pazardzhik with Septemvri, Lesichovo and Belovo in the Pazardzhik economic centre. It produced BGN 2.9 billion of output in 2021, and its value added grew by 90% in ten years. Pazardzhik generates 85% of it and Septemvri 13%.³

Source: Institute for Market Economics: Pazardzhik economic centre³

The centre is export-oriented, with export revenue of BGN 1.35 billion in 2021, almost BGN 11,000 per person.³

Car Parts, Packaging and Beverages

The largest employers are the car-parts maker Kostal, with over 1,500 staff and BGN 813 million of revenue in 2021, and Kolovag in Septemvri, with 1,300 staff, followed by the general hospital in Pazardzhik and the cardboard and packaging maker DS Smith.³

Nova Trade, the maker of Derby soft drinks and Bachkovo spring water, has production lines for carbonated drinks in Pazardzhik, over 800 employees and exports to over 40 countries, as reported in 2026. The battery maker Elhim Iskra decided on 4 March 2026 to stop work and release its workers.^5,6

Source: Institute for Market Economics: Pazardzhik economic centre; DBR: The maker of Derby and Bachkovo invests close to €12 million in a new plant; Pazardzhik Municipality: Business zones^3,5,4

Investment and Production Zones

Industry in Pazardzhik Municipality had attracted €121 million of foreign investment by 2021, and BGN 276 million of the centre’s BGN 308 million spending on land, buildings and machinery in 2021 was in Pazardzhik. In 2024, foreign investment in Pazardzhik Province reached €2,884 per person, and the province leads Bulgaria in renewable energy capacity.^3,8,7

The Main Production Zone lies south of the Maritsa River, beside a main road, bordered by a railway line and with a freight station. Five smaller zones lie north of the river: West, West 2, DAP, East and Southeast.⁴

Workforce and Salaries

• 45,600 people were in work in the economic centre in 2021, 35,000 of them in Pazardzhik, with 40% in manufacturing and 21% in trade.
• About 1,500 people commute to Pazardzhik daily from Septemvri.
• Unemployment in Pazardzhik Province averaged 7.70% in 2025, and 68.3% of residents aged 20–64 were employed.
• 19.6% of the province’s residents aged 25–64 have a university degree.
• The average gross salary in Pazardzhik Province was €1,042 a month in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Source: Institute for Market Economics: Pazardzhik economic centre; Institute for Market Economics: Regional Profiles, Pazardzhik Province; Ministry of Labour and Social Policy: Labour market bulletin, fourth quarter of 2025^3,8,2

Transport

The international Sofia–Istanbul railway passes through Pazardzhik, and the city has passenger and freight stations. Second-class road 37 crosses the Main Production Zone, and a first-class road links Pazardzhik with Plovdiv.⁴

Registering a Company in Pazardzhik

Bulgaria has one national Commercial Register, so a company based in Pazardzhik can be filed online from anywhere with a qualified electronic signature, or on paper at the Registry Agency’s Pazardzhik office. After registration, the company deals with the Pazardzhik office of the National Revenue Agency for tax and VAT, and with Pazardzhik Municipality for local taxes and fees.^9,10

Source: Registry Agency: Commercial Register contacts; Council of Ministers IISDA: National Revenue Agency offices; Pazardzhik Municipality: Contacts; Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Regional chambers^9,10,11,12

The full steps, documents, fees and timings are in the guide to registering a company in Bulgaria.