Retailers inflate commodity prices by up to 113%

“The price from the producer to the end consumer increases in the range from 30% to 113% for a range of products, which is due to the actions of traders,” said Slavcho Petrov, Chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions in the Food Industry at a press conference entitled "Whom do Bulgarian consumers pay?". He cited as an example the price of perishable sausages whose selling price is BGN 6.25 per kg (VAT excluded) in stores, while the manufacturer receives just BGN 3.47.

“However, retail distributions chains, supermarkets and shops allocate the value added of the products so that it is entirely in their favour, while Bulgarian businesses have their backs against the wall,” said Evgeny Ivanov, Chairman of the initiative Fair Trade Committee, uniting producers from all branches of the food industry, representing nearly 1,400 companies and over 240,000 workers . According to him, Bulgaria is the only EU member-state where there is no adequate law protecting producers from the pressure exerted by big retail chains whose influence is increasingly growing.

According to Bulgarian producers, the presence of products of poor quality is a result of this pressure and this is to the detriment of consumers. The initiative committee stated that the goods offered by retail chains as own brands or the so-called white goods are "a big blow to manufacturers." They suggested to the control bodies with the Food Safety Agency to examine what is being offered on the stands of shops and stores, and not to focus the inspections on manufacturing companies alone.

“Payments to suppliers delayed by up to 2 - 3 months are interest -free credits to foreign traders and the money of Bulgarian consumers is being directed not to the national budget but to foreign economies,” said Maria Kukusheva, Chairwoman of the Federation of Bakers and Confectioners in Bulgaria. According to her, retail distribution chains have tremendous market power and abuse it by seizing most of the companies’ profits, which condemns them to a miserable existence. As a result, employment and wages do not grow, while investment and consumption decline. “The retail chains have killed Bulgaria's small and medium-sized enterprises through cartel agreements and monopolisation of the market,” stated Kukusheva.

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