The markup on butter at the retail chain being checked by the Consumer Protection Commission (KZP) is 141%, on white brine cheese 133% and on yellow cheese 106%, commission chair Maya Manolova said. See our first report: Consumer watchdog finds 125% markup on butter at retail chain.
The new figures are higher than the first ones Manolova gave to BNT, when she named 125% for butter, 95% for white cheese and up to 99% for yellow cheese.
Butter has the biggest markup of the five goods with the highest markups at the chain. Onions are marked up by 106%, tomatoes by 127% and yoghurt by 99%. The first data put fresh milk at 99%, some vegetables at over 100%, and some dairy products at 100% or more. Goods on promotion have markups of up to 40%.
Manolova explained that the markup is the gap between the price the shop pays for a product and the price it sells it for.
She also cited Eurostat. By its figures, oils and fats in Bulgaria cost 142% above the European average, and dairy products over 123%. Manolova said dairy products are the most expensive for Bulgarians compared with the rest of Europe.
Prices at the same chain differ between shops in Sofia and those in the rest of the country. The commission is comparing October prices with August. The first results reached the commission on Friday after the end of the working day, and the checks began on 2 October.
Manolova is new in the post. When she took office, she made pledges to Prime Minister Radev, the biggest of them on prices. She said the government had reached out to the chains through the "Basket with Care" scheme so they would correct their own prices, but they refused. She believes the commission is yet to face the chains.
Manolova said the law allows such markups, and the commission can only penalise unjustified price rises, so the decision lies with lawmakers.
Three chains have already been fined a total of €95,000. In a joint check on the origin of goods, the commission and the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) found repackaged Greek potatoes of second and third grade.
Across the country, the commission is checking fuel prices at petrol stations, food prices at the chains and bank fees. It has also filed class-action suits against private kindergartens over unfair terms, and is now handling about 12,000 consumer complaints about goods and services in various sectors.
The commission will present the detailed results of the check at a briefing next week.
Follow-up: Retailers' group says consumer watchdog confuses price indexes with markups and profits