SOFIA: Bulgaria harvested 5.65 million tonnes of wheat from 96% of the sown area, the agriculture ministry said on Monday, saying the crop was 8.7% larger than a year ago.

The Balkan country, a net grain exporter, has also reaped 8.3% more barley than last year, or 534,000 tonnes this year, the ministry said in a statement.

"The analyses, presented to the Grain Advisory Board, show that the harvest is better, in quantity and quality, than the previous one and is approaching the record (harvest) in 2017," Agriculture Minister Desislava Taneva said.

Two years ago the Black Sea state reaped a record high 6.1 million tonnes of wheat.