At a briefing here on Saturday, Minister of Agriculture and Food Georgi Tahov said that his Ministy will elaborate a bill concerning the relations throughout the food supply chain - from producer to retailer, with the aim of bringing relief to consumers by protecting producers. Tahov spoke after an extraordinary meeting called by the Prime Minister to discuss food prices and possible measures to calm the market.
The meeting was also attended by Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, Economy and Industry Minister Petar Dilov, as well as the heads of the Consumer Protection Commission, the State Commission for Commodity Exchanges and Auctions, and the National Revenue Agency.
"Following an appeal by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food has committed to draft a bill that aims to normalise precisely the relations along the entire supply chain from primary production, through processors, through the distribution of primary products, as well as wholesale and retail trade," Tahov said. "In our view, this regulation would lead to a normalisation of the market, and the main objective here would be for farmers to receive a fair and sufficient income for their produce, because at the moment there really is an imbalance, and through the bill we will try to provide them with additional protection, as well as to define unfair trade practices," Tahov said.
He explained that the Ministry's intentions are to draft a bill that would introduce regulation of contracts throughout the chain, rather than artificially imposing prices or limiting markup levels. "It is through this bill that we want to give farmers that negotiating advantage so that they feel really protected and are in a more advantageous negotiating position," the Agriculture and Food Minister said.
Tahov urged agricultural producers and farmers to take a more serious look at association, as this way, through the Cooperatives Act, regulation can be achieved to protect their interests. Until a solid association is achieved with farmers and growers, "they will always be in a weaker position, both in the market and in the overall negotiation process," Tahov said.
The extraordinary meeting at the Council of Ministers was called after a boycott of major food chains on February 13 over high food prices. According to data released by Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, the turnover of large retail chains fell by nearly 28.8% on the day of the boycott compared a day earlier. Another boycott is planned for February 20.
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