site.bta September 2014 Food Prices 3.5 Per Cent Down from Same Month of 2013

September 2014 Food Prices 3.5 Per Cent Down from Same Month of 2013

Sofia, September 29 (BTA) - In September 2014, the wholesale
food price index (WFPI) was relatively firm, fluctuating within
a narrow margin of some 1.300 points and standing at 1.298
points at the end of the month, the State Commission on
Commodity Exchanges and Wholesale Markets reported. The WFPI
base level of 1 point is in 2005.

In September 2013, the WFPI climbed, reaching 1.345 points,
after which the upward trend persisted until the end of the
year. The September 2014 WFPI is 3.5 percentage points lower
than in September 2013.

In September 2013, the prices of sugar, beans, rice, cooking oil
and dairy products eased 1-3 per cent down from August. The
price of pork and sausages edged up, month on month, while
flour, eggs and poultry meat were unchanged. Year on year, dairy
product prices were practically level. Meat and meat
preparations cheapened by 2-3 percentage points, and mince meat
alone fell 7 per cent.

Beans appreciated by 9 per cent, but its price tends to
stabilize in recent months. On an annual basis, rice went up by
4.5 per cent.

Sugar plummeted 33 per cent, year on year, cooking oil 13 per
cent, and flour 5.7 per cent. The price of eggs was unchanged.

Fruit and vegetable prices fluctuated considerably in September.
Month on month, garden tomatoes rose 31 per cent and hothouse
tomatoes 20 per cent. Garden cucumbers went up 9 per cent, and
hothouse cucumbers 5.6 per cent. In September, green peppers
were 12.6 per cent more expensive, and potatoes 5 per cent. Most
vegetables cheapened in September: apples and grapes by 9-14
percentage points, and water melons by 3 percentage points.

Having skyrocketed in late July and early August, the price of
lemons has steadied since mid-August at a steep 3.30
leva-plus/kg. Year on year, lemons appreciated by some 60 per
cent.

As a result of adverse climatic conditions, plant pests and the
Russian embargo, a large part of fruits and vegetables were more
expensive this September compared to the same month of 2013,
the Commission said.

The year-on-year rise was steepest for garden tomatoes, 28 per
cent, and red peppers, 35 per cent. Hothouse tomatoes, green
peppers and grapes appreciated by 11-17 per cent from September
2013, apples and water melons by 3-4 per cent, while potatoes
went 26 per cent down, greenhouse cucumbers 22 per cent, and
garden cucumbers 7 per cent.