Bulgarians Protest High Food Prices with New Boycott

A new boycott of retail chains is taking place in Bulgaria today, coinciding with similar mass protests planned in Croatia and Greece on February 20. Organizers are urging Bulgarian consumers to participate, emphasizing the need for action against persistently high prices of essential goods.

The previous boycott, held last Thursday, led to a 28.8% drop in turnover for major supermarkets, amounting to approximately 7.9 million leva in losses. Organizers consider this a success and continue to demand a markup ceiling below 30%.

In response to growing discontent over food prices, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov convened an extraordinary government meeting last week with key ministers, including Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and Agriculture Minister Georgi Tahov. The meeting focused on developing new legislation to reform supply chains and eliminate unfair practices, without imposing maximum prices or fixed markups.

To support these measures, extensive inspections are beginning today across the country. Mixed teams from the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA), the National Revenue Agency (NRA), and the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) will conduct checks on every stage of the agri-food supply chain, including producers, processors, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and importers.

The inspections will target financial documents, product traceability, packaging, labeling, storage conditions, expiration dates, promotional practices, and discrepancies between shelf prices and register prices. Authorities will also monitor misleading advertising, unclear pricing for different product sizes, and the proper display of unit prices for bulk goods.

If violations are detected, inspectors will impose immediate corrective measures, including issuing fines, ordering the destruction of goods, or even suspending the operations of non-compliant businesses. These daily checks will continue nationwide until food prices stabilize and fair market practices are ensured.