Prices of basic foods in Bulgaria have risen between 20% and 40% in just a year - government takes urgent measures

Caretaker Prime Minister Gulub Donev on February 7 held a working meeting with the ministries and institutions directly involved in the control of food and commercial networks in the country. According to an analysis of the state authorities, between producers and final consumers, the prices of foods rise by up to 30%. And according to national statistics, prices of basic products have jumped by up to 40% in just one year.

The caretaker government is harnessing the might of the entire state machinery to battle unjustifiably high food prices, both in big hypermarkets and small shops. A special control and penalty mechanism will be devised for the purpose.

Prices of basic foodstuffs in Bulgaria have increased between 20% and 40% in just a year, an analysis by the National Statistical Institute shows.

That is why the state has started daily monitoring of the 27 main products from the big consumer basket, caretaker Prime Minister Gulub Donev announced. A law on food trade is also being prepared, which will define what constitutes an unfair trade practice.

"We will not tolerate and will not allow unjustified price increases along the entire retail chain. "We will monitor not only the price formation of specific food products, but also the formation of profits by the respective traders," PM said and explained how: "Through the Customs Agency, through the National Revenue Agency, checks whether the laws are respected and taxes and social security contributions are paid, through the entire logistics supply chain, through the commercial practices that are applied in various retail chains and shops."

According to the head of Sofia Commodity Exchange, there is no market explanation for this price increase, as the exchange quotations are low.

"Many traders are taking advantage of this very factor, using the cold weather, high energy prices, the war in Ukraine, and are trying to raise prices in their retail stores more than necessary, because I repeat, there is no reason to raise retail prices based on wholesale prices. We are in a period, more than half a year, when almost all exchanges around the world, the main food commodities, typical commodities - wheat, corn, sunflower, sugar, practically do not change their prices," said Vasil Simov - Chairman of Sofia Commodity Exchange.

Economists are of the same opinion.

"On the global markets, basic foodstuffs have already become cheaper and prices are likely to continue falling in the next 1.2 months. This will reach the end consumer at some point. If it doesn't, we have to ask ourselves why," said Lachezar Bogdanov of IME.

In order to have comparability between price and quality, the government is considering to create a website, which will include retail chains. Consumers will be able to report irregularities.