Eurostat: In 2010, Bulgaria had the lowest price levels in the EU

The prices of consumer goods and services in the EU were the highest in Denmark and lowest in Bulgaria last year, according to Eurostat data. The consumer prices in the most expensive EU country were 43% higher than the average for the 27 EU member states. The statistical office reported that Bulgaria ranked last in the chart. Our consumer prices were 49% lower than the EU average, which is equivalent to 100%.

The only EU countries, where the consumer prices were lower than those in Bulgaria, were Macedonia and Albania, followed by Serbia. In addition to the common price level index, the goods under the various categories of the survey also proved to be the cheapest among the EU countries. Food prices were 34% lower than the EU average. It turned out that Bulgarian citizens paid for alcohol and cigarettes by 36% less than the average European, despite the increase in excise duties last year. The cost of the clothing was 25% lower, while the electric appliances were 11% cheaper. In terms of restaurants and hotels, only Albanians and Macedonians can offer more competitive prices of services than ours. In Bulgaria, the value of the sector was 55% below the EU average.

The economist Georgi Angelov from the Open Society Institute explained that during the process of economic convergence, the poor EU member states that show a tendency for getting wealthier will experience an increase of price levels towards the average EU levels, which will lead to higher inflation in those countries.

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