A team from BNT has examined how much the price of fruit and vegetables rises from garden to shop. It found that the price of Bulgarian tomatoes increases fourfold on its way from a producer in Kresna to a shop in the centre of Blagoevgrad.
Blagovest Angelov from Kresna grows tomatoes on six decares. He says there will certainly be a price increase for the new harvest, but it is still unclear by how much.
Blagovest Angelov, vegetable grower from Kresna: “Much depends first on the kind of harvest we manage to produce. For there to be a decent return for me, the price of tomatoes should not fall below one euro fifty.”
We checked how much Bulgarian tomatoes cost at the market in Blagoevgrad. At this stall, a kilogramme of Bulgarian pink tomatoes reaches €4.20, which traders say is twice as much as last year.
Mark Tzekov, Fruit and Vegetables Chamber: “A shopska salad now costs as much as a kilogramme of meat.”
Elitsa, vegetable trader: “If last year I was buying tomatoes at four leva, now I’m buying them at four euros. The lev and the euro are practically on a one-to-one basis now. Since that is the producer price, it’s normal for market prices here to be at this level.”
Kostadin: “It’s terribly expensive — they’re skinning you alive. There’s no mercy from these people. It’s absurd.”
Bulgarian cucumbers have also risen in price by at least 20%. Here, the price per kilogramme starts at €1.80 and reaches €3.20.
Spasko Kostadinov: “It’s never been like this. What it’s due to — whether it’s the euro or the war — I don’t know.”
We also met Nikolay from Dolna Gradeshnitsa, who says he tries to keep prices relatively low in order to retain customers.
Nikolay Ivanov, vegetable grower from Dolna Gradeshnitsa: “My produce is at the same price — all winter I’ve been selling lettuce at a fixed price of 60 cents.”
Finally, we checked prices in a neighbourhood shop in Blagoevgrad. Here, a kilogramme of Bulgarian tomatoes reaches €4.50, while locally produced cucumbers cost €3.50 per kilogramme. Lettuce is 80 cents, and a kilogram of Bulgarian apples is around €1.40.
Aneta, greengrocer: “The increase isn’t so dramatic as to make them unaffordable.”
Vanya: “Prices here in the Gramada district are better than in the centre.”
In central shops, however, the price of Bulgarian tomatoes reaches as much as €6 per kilogramme.
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