site.btaWholesale Food Price Index in August Drops to Its Lowest This Year

ESD 10:50:30 02-09-2014
VE1050ES.104
104 ECONOMY - FOOD - PRICES

Wholesale Food Price Index
in August Drops to Its Lowest
This Year


Sofia, September 2 (BTA) - The wholesale food price index fell
to 1.249 points in August 2014, hitting its lowest level this
year and dropping 4 per cent lower than in August 2013, the
State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Wholesale Markets
reported on September 1.

In August 2014 compared with July 2014, the average wholesale
price of eggs increased by 0.01 leva per piece to 0.19 leva. A
price fall by 2 to 3 per cent was observed with sugar, common
beans, flour, pork and chicken. The average wholesale price of
sunflower oil increased by 1 per cent to 2.01 leva per litre.

Milk product prices changed by up to 3 per cent. Yellow
kashkaval cheese went up by 0.5 per cent to 11.16 leva per
kilogramme, and white brined cheese rose by 2.7 per cent to 5.71
lv/kg.

Meat product prices decreased in August 2014 compared with July
2014. Kaima minced meat fell by 8.5 per cent to 4.68 lv/kg, and
perishable sausages went down by 6 per cent to 4.60 lv/kg.

Staple foods like sugar, sunflower oil and flour dropped further
during the month in review. Compared with August 2013, sugar
and sunflower oil fell by 20 to 30 per cent, and flour fell by
10 per cent.

The prices of most fruits and vegetables were lower in August
2014 than in July 2014. Tomato imports to Bulgaria from some
other European countries increased as these nations could not
sell their products to Russia due to the embargo imposed by
Moscow. This caused a considerable fall in the prices of both
garden-grown and greenhouse-grown tomatoes offered on the
Bulgarian market. In August 2014 compared with July 2014, the
average price of tomatoes grown in the open air decreased by 33
per cent, Bulgarian greenhouse tomatoes decreased by 27 per
cent, and imported tomatoes went down by 21 per cent.

Greenhouse cucumbers fell by 7 per cent, while garden-grown and
imported cucumbers were sold at the price levels of the previous
month.

On the fruit price list, watermelons and muskmelons dropped by
around 28 per cent in August 2014 compared with July 2014,
peaches went down by 16 per cent, and apples fell by 12 per
cent.

The largest price increase in August 2014 compared with August
2013 was registered for greenhouse tomatoes, up by 47 per cent.
Tomatoes grown in open-air spaces went up by 26 per cent, and
imported tomatoes increased by a much smaller margin of 6 per
cent.

Cucumber prices were relatively more stable over the past year.
Garden-grown cucumbers decreased by 2 per cent, while
greenhouse-grown cucumbers increased by 8 per cent. The average
price of imported cucumbers was 18 per cent lower in August 2014
than in August 2013, but import quantities were small and did
not impact the market in any major way.

Red and green peppers went up by 39.5 per cent and 17.0 per
cent, respectively, in August 2014 compared with August 2013.

The prices of muskmelons, peaches and bananas went down by
between 5 and 8 per cent in August 2014 compared with August
2013. Bulgarian-grown watermelons rose by 18 per cent. The price
of apples remained unchanged at around 1.17 lv/kg. VI/VE