Volume of retail trade in Bulgaria fell 12% in December 2020 y/y
The volume of retail trade in Bulgaria in December 2020 was 12 per cent lower than in December 2019, the second-largest drop in the European Union on an annual basis, according to figures released on February 4 by EU statistics agency Eurostat.
Against the background of the Covid-19 crisis, the figure for December was the latest in a succession of decreases in the volume of the retail trade in Bulgaria on an annual basis.
In July, the decrease was 17.5 per cent, in August, 12.2 per cent, in September 6.7 per cent, in October 5.3 per cent and in November, 6.4 per cent.
On a month-by-month comparison, the five months prior to December had seen increases in the volume of retail trade in Bulgaria.
Comparing July 2020 with June 2020, the increase was two per cent, with the August figure showing a 4.6 per cent increase compared with July, September seeing a 3.2 per cent increase, October a 1.3 per cent increase and November an increase of a mere 0.4 per cent.
Eurostat said that comparing December 2020 with December 2019, the highest yearly increases in the total retail trade volume were registered in Ireland (11.1 per cent), France (9.1 per cent) and Estonia (5.9 per cent). The largest decreases were observed in Slovenia (-13.3 per cent), Bulgaria (-12 per cent) and the Netherlands (-5.7 per cent)
Across the EU in December 2020, compared with December 2019, the retail trade volume increased by five per cent for food, drinks and tobacco, while it decreased by 0.6 per cent for non-food products (textiles, clothes and footwear -28.4%) and by 12.9 per cent for automotive fuels.
The annual average retail trade for the year 2020, compared with 2019, fell by 1.2 per cent in the euro zone and by 0.8 per cent in the EU, Eurostat said.
(Photo: Carsten Gueth/freeimages.com)
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