Authorities Detect Up to 83% Food Price Hike Across 25 Bulgarian Cities

A sharp increase in food prices has been recorded in 25 cities across Bulgaria following joint inspections by the National Revenue Agency (NRA), the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC), and the Consumer Protection Commission (CPCo). The checks were carried out in both major retail chains and smaller local shops, where prices of key food items rose between 5% and 83%. Veliko Tarnovo registered the most drastic price jump, while Plovdiv saw the lowest.

According to the head of the CPC, Rosen Karadimov, the steepest increase was observed in a store in Veliko Tarnovo, where the price of a 1.5-liter bottle of mineral water surged by 80%. He confirmed that the price monitoring covered outlets in cities such as Kyustendil, Yambol, Burgas, Vidin, Ruse, Varna, Stara Zagora, and Smolyan, among others. Products with the highest price hikes include mineral water, eggs, chicken and pork, minced meat, cow's cheese, yogurt, fresh milk, oil, rice, flour, potatoes, and bread.

The chairwoman of the Consumer Protection Commission, Maria Filipova, announced that 43 orders have been issued to traders who now have five working days to justify the increases with objective evidence. “In the absence of clear economic reasons for such drastic changes - like the 40% spike for chicken meat in some areas - the burden of proof is on the traders,” Filipova explained. If documentation is not provided or deemed inadequate, fines of BGN 50,000 will be issued for each individual product.

Filipova clarified that these unjustified increases were not limited to large supermarket chains but also occurred in smaller outlets. Based on this, she has initiated the issuance of over 40 administrative acts for unfair trade practices. These may result in significant financial sanctions per site and per product. Traders who cannot prove the legitimacy of the pricing will face further charges for unscrupulous behavior.

The inspections, carried out between June 6 and 17, covered more than 30 establishments. The NRA's chairman, Rumen Spetsov, noted that 14 major categories of goods were monitored. The results clearly show that basic food items such as yogurt, cheese, eggs, and mineral water saw significant price hikes with no justifiable cause based on economic indicators.

In response, the agencies announced the upcoming launch of a centralized portal that will allow consumers to monitor prices of essential goods and services - including food and mobile plans - on a weekly and monthly basis. This transparency measure aims to curb speculative pricing, especially ahead of Bulgaria’s planned eurozone entry.

Sector-wide investigations are also underway. The CPC has initiated two broader analyses - one focused on the fast-moving consumer goods market and the other on wholesale and retail food trade. Information requests have already been sent to 50 retail chains and stores nationwide.

At the briefing, the message from the authorities was clear: price speculation will not be tolerated. “These are the first signs of manipulative pricing behavior, and we are addressing them firmly,” Filipova emphasized.