SOFIA - Chinese could soon fall in love with Bulgarian yogurt with 870 shops offering the food set to open in the country.

Georgi Georgiev, general manager of Lactina Ltd., a large private Bulgarian manufacturer of starters, told Xinhua that its Chinese partner Zhejiang Shangzheng Commerce and Trade and Walmart China would jointly open 852 shops for Bulgarian yogurt by the end of 2014.

According to a contract signed recently, the first shop called "Lactina Yogurt Bar" will be put into operation inside a Walmart store in June 2013, Georgiev said.

Zhejiang Shangzheng Commerce and Trade will also independently open about 20 more Lactina Yogurt Bars in Hangzhou and Ningbo in east China's Zhejiang province. The Chinese firm set up its first Lactina Yogurt Bar in September last year in Hangzhou.

Georgiev said local Chinese staff in Hangzhou were trained by Lactina to make genuine Bulgarian yogurt using yogurt makers.

Lactina is currently present in 85 countries in five continents. It develops different yogurt starters, tailored to climatic conditions and the tastes of consumers in each region, Georgiev said.

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