Bulgaria Cracks Down on Price Hikes: Basic Goods Surge Ahead of Eurozone Entry

An inspection by Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency (NRA) has found that prices for essential food items - the so-called “small consumer basket” - have risen significantly in the span of just two weeks. From June 3 to June 17, all 14 categories of basic goods monitored by the agency recorded price increases, some of them sharply. The checks were carried out across more than 150 retail sites in over 30 cities, including not only large supermarket chains but also small, local shops. A total of 800 NRA employees were involved in the operation.

Among the most striking findings was a 40% spike in the price of 1.5-liter bottles of mineral water, sold by two companies in various chains. The director of the revenue agency, Rumen Spetsov, who spoke about the results in a bTV interview, noted that it’s still unclear whether the companies in question share an ownership structure. He added that the agency is not rushing to assign blame, as the higher prices might be due to increased delivery costs rather than retail manipulation. However, further investigation into invoices, expenses, and supply chains is now underway to determine whether the increases are justified.

Beyond mineral water, the agency recorded a 25% jump in the price of a particular type of cheese and more modest increases—starting from 5% - across all other monitored staples. These include bread, minced and fresh meat, eggs, oil, yogurt, and fresh milk. According to Spetsov, no category remained unaffected. The NRA chief issued a blunt warning to producers and traders, urging them to roll back prices to their June 3 levels and vowing strong state intervention in cases where speculation is detected.

“We’re not talking about inflation here, but about speculation - an attempt to profit from the euro changeover,” Spetsov said. He acknowledged public distrust in the official inflation data and emphasized that the role of the state is to apply pressure and force market correction where needed. He warned that if there had been any doubt about the state’s ability to impose control, the ongoing operation should dispel it. "Yes, the fears are justified," he said, referring to concerns of price gouging ahead of Bulgaria’s entry into the eurozone.

The NRA's inspection was launched shortly after the European Commission and the European Central Bank released positive reports on Bulgaria's convergence progress, reigniting public and institutional vigilance around possible market abuse. Spetsov also confirmed that the NRA is working in coordination with the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) and the Consumer Protection Commission to curb potential price speculation in the run-up to euro adoption.

The revenue agency has not yet published detailed results by chain or product but promises to do so. Spetsov pledged that if evidence of cartel behavior surfaces, he would report it directly to the CPC. Meanwhile, he mentioned that the financial impact of the price surge has already been felt elsewhere - with a 43% increase in currency exchange bureau turnover being registered recently, suggesting that consumer anxiety over the euro changeover may be driving behavior on multiple fronts.

In his closing remarks, Spetsov reiterated that the state is prepared to act decisively and transparently against any unjustified price increases. “Strict control measures will follow,” he said, making it clear that authorities are watching the market closely.