More than 200% milk price difference between farmers and consumers

There's over a 200% markup in farm-to-store fresh milk prices. Wholesale prices for fresh milk in this country are up by 19% from last year, according to data from the Commodity Exchange and Trading Commission. Yoghurt price has risen by 12%.

Currently, the farm gate milk price is between 0,50 and 0,90 BGN per litre and the average price of a litre of milk in shops is between 2 and 3 BGN.

Elena Stoichkova owns a farm on the outskirts of Sofia with 20 dairy cows. She claims that the farm gate price often does not cover the cost of production.

"It will be ok when you have the right to sell raw milk directly from the farm to the final consumer," said Elena Stoichkova, a farm owner.

Whether dairy products in shops are of good quality - the dispute between the Food Agency and the Active Consumers Association has been going on for years.

A BNT poll shows that 78% of respondents do not think they consume dairy products of good quality. Only 22% believe that they put good quality milk and dairy products on their table.

In the summer, “Active Consumers” released the results of its survey, which found that of the 36 cheese brands tested on the market, only 15 met the water content requirement of 60%, 19 had between 60 and 70%, and two brands exceeded 70%.

"If you find a cheese for 10 BGN, it is certainly not good quality. If you buy cheese for BGN 20, it may be of good quality, but it may also be poor quality," said Dr Sergei Ivanov, a food safety expert.

"Read the label - it has to be correct enough, which is the responsibility of the producers, and any discrepancy related to what is stated on the label is a violation of the law, and we are uncompromising with these business operators. If a product says it is dairy and it has cheese in it, but it has palm oil in it. This is a very serious and gross violation," said Dr. Tatiana Nikolova, Food Control Directorate at FSA.

In case of quality violations, the Food Control Agency imposes fines from BGN 2,000 to BGN 4,000, with the biggest penalty being suspension of the work of the enterprise.

“Active Consumers”, however, believes that the fines imposed on enterprises are ruled against in court, while the activities of the establishments that commit violations are not stopped.