"Fair Value": New Package of Measures Against High Food Prices Being Prepared by the Government

A new package of measures aimed at addressing the continued rise in food prices has been approved by Parliament.

Under the changes, which were adopted at final reading, the concept of a "fair value" will be introduced. This value will be determined according to a methodology developed by the government and will be published on the electronic price-monitoring platform for major retail chains.

Rising prices in shops are already forcing people to cut back on spending.

Martinova:
"They replaced levs with euros, so in my view the prices are unjustified. I simply cannot understand it. Salaries of 1,300 levs became €600, which, for me, is unjustifiable."

Radkova:
"Of course we are cutting back. It is very obvious. It cannot be compared with how things were before. Now, you only have to step into a shop and your money is gone."

Staneva:
"I am cutting back somewhat because I live on a teacher's pension, and I would rather not tell you how much I receive. I am not an economist, but when I see the level of waste on other things, I simply have no words."

The main point of contention in the Budget Committee today was the concept of a "fair value", which will be determined according to a state-approved methodology.

Vladislav Goranov, GERB-UDF:
"Everything we are considering in this committee today, and which will pass through the plenary chamber by virtue of the parliamentary majority, will not work."

Asen Vasilev, We Continue the Change:
"In my view, we are creating additional bureaucracy around something that simply will not work. I will stop there, because there is no need for us to waste any more of each other's time."

Martin Dimitrov, Democratic Bulgaria:
"Is one year not an excessively long period? How can you be certain that deflationary processes will not begin by the end of the year – in other words, that inflation will not start to fall?"

Atidzhe Veli, MRF:
"Questions remain regarding the additional administrative burden on businesses. The devil is in the detail. There are still considerable uncertainties at this stage concerning the requirements set out in the methodologies."

Under the changes, any retailer that increases prices will be required to provide a justification for the rise. The governing parties have also proposed the inclusion of a category for "other factors" that may have contributed to higher prices.

Tsoncho Ganev, Vazrazhdane:
"We have very serious concerns that this is a wide-open loophole and that the large retail chains will simply use it to circumvent the rules."

Konstantin Prodanov, Chair of the National Assembly's Budget Committee:
"The problem is that, without it, the system could become overly restrictive. The idea is to bring pricing practices into the open. I accept that someone may come forward and say that the easterly wind and a blue moon forced them to raise prices."

photo: BTA

According to the government, this is where the supervisory authority — the Consumer Protection Commission — will intervene, assessing whether the given factor has economic justification.

The legislation is expected to undergo its final reading in the plenary chamber tomorrow.