Commodity exchanges commission chief: Food prices up by 19.5% in a year, advises consumers to not stockpile

Prices of basic foods in Bulgaria compared to March 2021 have gone up by 19.5%, the Chairman of the State Commission for Commodity Exchanges and Markets, Vladimir Ivanov, told BNT breakfast show on March 22.

Significant surge in the recent weeks has been registered in the price of sunflower oil, which has risen by more than 50%. A higher increase was also observed in the price of flour due to the war in Ukraine.

"The war was the main reason for the upward trend in the prices of these resources and for this mess on the market. It is quite normal - two major producers of sunflower oil and wheat are coming out of the world market - Russia and Ukraine. So, therefore, quite naturally, the preconditions were created for what we are seeing. However, there was also psychological tension and a lot of fear that was passed on to consumers. I would like to remind consumers that overstocking and excessive buying are not a solution, but become a pro-inflationary factor," Ivanov warned.

According to him, for other products, the processes are smooth and steady and are subject to control - prices are rising because of expensive energy resources and fertilizers, but this is happening gradually at small percentages. Therefore, there is no need for the introduction of a price ceiling or any other type of regulation by the state for the time being, he added.

"The market is not in such a condition that would call for such strictly non-market measures. We are in the European Union, where the market mechanism is currently working - the food market is close to perfect competition, there is a lot of competition and this creates a smooth transition and quick regulation of price levels," Ivanov said.

He expects sunflower oil and flour prices to remain at their current levels for a long time. So consumers should not give in to unfair practices.

"I would like to remind that different brands of sunflower oil have similar quality parameters. Therefore, people should not pay for this type of unfair practices such as BGN 8 for a bottle of sunflower oil. There are unfair practices and there always will be. In such situations, with such tension in the market, some people make a feast during a plague. That is why I appeal to Bulgarian consumers - it is very easy, don’t fall for it, don’t buy it," said Vladimir Ivanov.

According to him, if the war ends soon, we can expect very different trends and a calming of the market in September

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