A serious spike in the prices of dairy products in Bulgaria

Serious spike in the prices of dairy products. In just 12 months, the price of cow’s milk cheese, for example, has jumped by almost 50%.

According to the data of the State Commission for Commodity Exchanges, the increase in the price of “Vitosha” brand yellow cheese is 47%,the price of cow’s milk cheese has jumped by nearly 50%. The price of yoghurt went up by average 37%, and for fresh milk prices have jumped by 21%.

“The sharp rise this year, if we compare to the same period last year, are the prices of energy resources. Hence the oil derivatives – packaging and everything else. There is almost nothing that has not risen by 40-50%,” said Dimitar Zorov, Association of Milk Processors in Bulgaria.

There is also a serious jump in the prices of the main raw material - milk.

"The price of raw milk, if we compare it with the previous year, has gone up by 50 - 60%. This is the main raw material and it is 50 - 60% of the value of the product," Zorov said.

Still, even in this situation, customers have a useful move:

It turns out that buying dairy products from a small dairy's company store is far more profitable than buying it from a hypermarket.

For the same brand of yogurt in a hypermarket we will pay by about 0,50 BGN more than if we buy it from the company store, BNT reporter's check showed.

"More and more people are resorting to buying their dairy products directly from farms and this somehow balances the low prices at which the farms sell in the region," said Simeon Karakolev of the National Goat and Sheep Breeders' Organisation.

Parallel to the surge in prices of real dairy products, there has been a rise in imitation ones, the industry also reported.

"The competition in dairy processing is big enough for speculation. Rather, there is an increase in prices of imitation products, illogically. They use the hunger on the market for such products and use the opportunity to make more money," said Simeon Karakolev.

So be sure to read the label of the product you are buying so you don't end up paying more for an imitation than you would for one made from real milk.