The political formation "Progressive Bulgaria" is preparing a large-scale package of legislative amendments, the main goal of which is to reduce food prices while simultaneously ensuring high quality. Member of Parliament Yavor Gechev emphasized that the initiated policy will not be limited to the measures already adopted, as an entire new series of additional initiatives in the sector is set to be introduced.
The upcoming regulatory changes will directly affect the labeling and naming of food products. The main objective is to enable consumers to easily and clearly distinguish high-quality products from cheap imitations. As a concrete example, Yavor Gechev pointed to dairy products, highlighting the urgent need to introduce clear standards for what can exactly be called "cheese". According to him, current market practice allows products with an excessively high water content to be presented to buyers as authentic dairy products, which is misleading.
In parallel, a completely new law on cooperatives is also being drafted. Its function is to provide Bulgarian farmers with the necessary opportunity to unite in order to offer significantly larger quantities of produce directly to major retail chains. In this way, small producers will have a chance to negotiate much more favorable prices and become truly competitive. Gechev clarified that the process of cooperation is a key factor in ensuring stable supplies and, at the same time, curbing the pressure on end-user prices.
Significantly stricter rules regarding farm products are also in place, aimed at making a clear distinction between genuine producers and mere resellers. A more detailed system for traceability and origin verification will be introduced to ensure consumer trust in the goods on the market. In addition, the Ministry of Economy is working on refining a "fair price" formula. The goal here is to create a reliable system for collecting data throughout the entire chain—from the producer to the end consumer. Yavor Gechev pointed out that the lack of transparency in the prices at which large chains purchase produce remains one of the most serious problems.
All these planned changes aim to build a real market for domestic produce, in which farmers can generate profit through their labor instead of relying solely on subsidies. Alongside this, increased control against the misuse of funds will be introduced to ensure that state support reaches only legitimate producers.