Days Before the Holidays: Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables More Expensive for the Festive Table

Days before the holidays, prices of seasonal fruits and vegetables are rising at one of Bulgaria’s largest wholesale markets near the village of Parvenets, Plovdiv district, Southern Bulgaria. Over the past two months, prices have increased by around 10%, while the number of buyers has dropped sharply.

Dimitar Lazarov grows cabbage in the village of Yoakim Gruevo near Plovdiv. Despite lower prices compared with last year, there is little demand. A vanload of produce that previously sold within hours now takes four days to sell.

Dimitar Lazarov: “There are no people, no buyers. The market is empty.”

Both consumers and traders agree that purchasing power has fallen dramatically.

Nikolina Ivanova: “Many colleagues are giving up small businesses. The supermarket chains are squeezing them.”

Iliya Gatev, Executive Director of Rodopi 95 Commodity Exchange: “People are cautious, especially with the euro’s introduction approaching. There are fewer customers here with us.”

Number of customers is also decling as they are reducing their purchases due to rising prices of fruits and vegetables, most noticeably cucumbers, which are now wholesale at BGN 5 per kilogramme.

Iliya Gatev, Executive Director of Rodopi 95 Commodity Exchange: “This is primarily due to increased costs, as they are grown in greenhouses, and cucumber prices in particular have been higher since the summer.”

BNT: “What did you buy?”
– “Red bell peppers.”

BNT: “At what price?”
– “BGN 3.70. They are much more expensive now. We don’t produce them ourselves.”

BNT: “Why are prices so high?”
– “Everything is imported.”

Wholesale prices are BGN 5 per kilogram for tomatoes and BGN 1 for carrots. Tangerines and oranges are traded at BGN 2.50 per kilogramme, while apples are more expensive.

Iliya Gatev, Executive Director of Rodopi 95 Commodity Exchange: “I assume this is due to a poorer apple harvest. Prices reach BGN 2.40, and here we have more expensive apples, up to BGN 3 per kilogramme – Italian imports.”

Consumers hope that prices will not rise further after New Year with the introduction of the euro, while traders at the market expect demand to increase in the days immediately before the holidays.