Eurostat: Retail trade in Bulgaria dropped 18% in March 2020, biggest decrease in EU
Bulgaria had the largest drop in retail trade in the European Union in March 2020 compared with February, at 18.1 per cent, EU statistics agency Eurostat said on May 8.
Sales in supermarkets in Bulgaria, however, went up by two per cent that month.
Bulgaria declared a State of Emergency on March 13 because of Covid-19. For a short few days after the vote in the National Assembly, there was a degree of bulk-buying.
Among State of Emergency measures was a government order to close shopping malls, although the order left supermarkets, pharmacies and banks in shopping malls open.
Eurostat said that in March2020, the Covid-19 containment measures widely introduced by EU countries had a significant impact on retail trade, as the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade decreased by 11.2 per cent in the euro zone by 10.4 per cent in the EU, compared with February 2020.
In February 2020, the retail trade volume increased by 0.6 per cent in the euro area and by 0.5 per cent in the EU.
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