Food prices: Bulgarian government says it will propose legislative measures against unfair market practices
Legislative changes aimed at shortening the supply chain, limiting resellers and price aggravation, as well as actions to prevent unfair and coercive practices in the market are among measures that the Bulgarian government will propose, according to a government statement after Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov held a meeting on February 15 on food prices.
Food prices have been a talking point this week among the Bulgarian media and politicians, after four organisations called for a February 13 boycott of major supermarket chains.
Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, who was among government and state officials who attended the February 15 meeting, said afterwards that the turnover of retail chains fell by close to 29 per cent on February 13 compared with the previous day.
“On February 12 2025, the turnover of large chains was worth 27 300 000 leva. On February 13 2025, the so-called ‘boycott day’, the turnover dropped to 19 400 000 leva, or a decrease of 7 900 000 leva. In percentage terms, this shows a 28.8 per cent drop in turnover on the day the boycott was announced,” Petkova said.
Zhelyazkov said that state intervention should lead to fair relations between all participants in the agri-food chain, a fair market and affordable price for the end consumer.
As examples of unfair and coercive practices, Zhelyazkov pointed to deferred payments, unilaterally imposed fees and sanctions, and unilaterally imposed incentives that increase the price.
We should impose direct access of the local producer to the end customer in cooperation with municipalities and municipal structures, he said.
In cooperation with the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC), unfair trade practices, hidden forms of concentration and coordinated practices along the vertical will be identified, Zhelyazkov said.
Zhelyazkov called on the National Assembly to quickly change the line-up of the CPC, because its activities are extremely important for the regulation of the market.
The statement said that as soon as possible, the National Revenue Agency will prepare an analysis of the activities of retail chains, starting from the manufacturer and ending with the end consumer, including how many intermediaries there are, what markup each of the participants charges, the financial discipline of everyone along the chain, and VAT.
The Customs Agency will conduct an analysis of imports from third countries and intra-EU supplies, the statement said.
Within a month, legislation on the topic will be prepared, which the Cabinet will table in Parliament.
Agriculture Minister Georgi Tahov said that the aim of the new law is to normalize relations along the entire chain – from primary production, through processors, through the distribution of primary products, as well as wholesale and retail trade.
This regulation would lead to a normalization of the market, Tahov said.
He said that it is important for agricultural producers to receive fair and sufficient income for their products, because at the moment there is an imbalance.
The bill will also address the problem of unfair trade practices.
We will also achieve relief for consumers, Tahov said.
He said that the topic would be approached “very sensibly”, so that contracts along the entire chain are regulated, and not artificially imposing prices and limiting markups.
The statement said that Tahov also drew attention to another problem, regarding the association of producers, which, according to him, is also of great importance for their position in the negotiation process on the market.
We are not entering into a trade dispute with the large chains, Zhelyazkov said.
He said that an invitation for dialogue will be extended to them next week.
The goal is to achieve the final effect in a “consistent, legal and European manner,” he said.
(Photo: government.bg)
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