Two Retail Chains Freeze Prices of 10 Essential Food Items
Two retail chains in the country have agreed with the agriculture ministry on a three-month price freeze of 10 essential food items.
The ten items from the so called small consumer basket whose price will remain unchanged in the following three months include bread, yogurt, milk, white and yellow cheese, butter, chicken, pork, eggs and sausages, news agency Focus reported, quoting agriculture minister Miroslav Naydenov.
Naydenov specified that the agreement with Metro and Kaufland concerns only goods made by local producers. He added that he expects several other supermarket chains to join in.
Reacting to the price freeze, the Bulgarian Industrial Association said the state's intervention on the market is inefficient and distorts the basic market principles of price-formation. It will lead to unpredictability of the business environment and bankruptcy for some traders, and will restrict competition, which will eventually result in even higher prices, the association said in a stand published on its website.