Bulgaria is building its first central electronic register to track food prices, prime minister Rumen Radev told parliament during question time. The register will give the country's two watchdogs real data on prices, so they can spot unfair trading.
Radev was answering a question from the GERB-SDS group about rising food prices.
Since taking office, the cabinet has put forward two bills to amend the laws on the Consumer Protection Commission and the Commission for Protection of Competition. Guidelines will follow, giving both watchdogs tools to check how prices are set. Fines for unfair trading have gone up sharply, and the two bodies are now working "in tight formation", Radev said.
Before setting up the register, the government talked to the big food chains, which agreed to voluntary price cuts under the "Basket with Care" scheme. Radev called this an attempt to strike a balance between a free market and penalties across the whole pricing chain.
"The 'Basket with Care' approach needs to be backed up with tougher steps, which we're about to start taking," Radev said, adding that more can always be done on prices.
The prime minister also traced how prices had moved since the start of the year. "Prices rose from January to April. From May, food prices started to fall," he said, meaning prices in shops had begun coming down. They later went back up. Radev has asked the National Statistical Institute for data on inflation in basic foods.
The cabinet plans to spend 55 million euros on big haulage firms that affect pricing, and on farmers. Other steps include subsidies for city transport and a cut in excise duty on propane-butane. The most vulnerable will get 50 euros with no paperwork needed.
Fuel prices are one factor behind food prices, Radev said. He said Bulgaria's fuel prices are among the lowest in Europe, with only Malta and countries supplied via Russia's Druzhba oil pipeline cheaper.