Speaking on the Bulgarian National Television on Sunday, Commission for Consumer Protection (CCP) Chair Maya Manolova described the Care Basket initiative as an offer by the government to retail chains to adjust their pricing policies voluntarily, which they have rejected.
Manolova said the CCP’s battle with retail chains was only just beginning, noting that her main commitment to Prime Minister Rumen Radev when she took over as head of the regulatory body had been to address prices.
She announced that the first results of inspections launched at retail chains had been available since the end of the working day on Friday. According to the information she provided, markups of up to and above 100% had been found on dairy products at a single retail chain. The markup on yellow kashkaval cheese was as high as 99%, as was that on milk. The markup on white brined cheese stood at 95%, and that on butter reached 125%. Manolova added that markups on some vegetables exceeded 100%.
The CCP Chair said butter ranked first among the top five products in terms of markups. Prices of oils and fats in Bulgaria are 142% above the EU average, while dairy products are more than 123% above it. She stressed that a markup is the difference between a product’s purchase price and its retail price.
Citing Eurostat, Manolova said Bulgarians pay the highest prices for dairy products in Europe.
When the CCP launched its inspections, the Commission said it was receiving a steady stream of consumer complaints about increases in the prices of staple food products. It was also processing around 12,000 complaints from consumers across various sectors, concerning both goods and services.
Manolova said a news briefing would be held next week to present the first findings and the markups identified.
She insisted that the ball was in the legislature’s court, as the CCP’s powers were limited to imposing sanctions for unjustified price increases. In her view, retail chains were taking advantage of the opportunities afforded to them by the current legislation to apply the markups she had described.
Manolova outlined the main priorities of her work as CCP Chair, including nationwide inspections and campaigns at petrol stations to examine fuel prices at the pump, at retail chains to check food prices, and at banks to scrutinize fees. She also highlighted joint inspections with the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency to verify the origin of goods. These inspections had uncovered practices involving the repackaging of second- and third-grade potatoes from Greece. Class-action lawsuits have also been filed against private kindergartens over unfair contractual clauses.
She recalled that three retail chains had already been fined a total of EUR 95,000.
Manolova said that inspections of telecommunications operators were also planned, alongside the measures already under way concerning retail chains, petrol stations and commercial banks, particularly in relation to fees charged for consumer services.
Consumer Watchdog Chair Says Retail Chains Rejected Government’s Care Basket Initiative THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-11 09:14:07
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