Although the "Affordable for You" initiative does not oblige the participants to maintain certain prices, but on the contrary stimulates competition between them in certain food groups, a statement from the Commission on Protection of Competition (CPC) was also requested, the Ministry of Economy and Industry said here Monday.
According to CPC's statement received by the Ministry, "the inclusion of food retailers in the initiative is linked to offering food at reduced prices, which will lead to a restriction of price competition between these retailers". The CPC also points out that 'the initiative launched by the Ministry of Economy is linked to a coordinated and simultaneous underpricing of several groups of food products, which violates the principle of free economic initiative enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria'. According to the CPC, a possible measure to deal with the price rise would be to "provide individual food packages and hot lunches", the Ministry said.
Economy Minister Bogdan Bogdanov said his Ministry will not give up looking for solutions, through market mechanisms in full compliance with the law, so that Bulgarian citizens can get products at the best possible price in the entire retail network in the country.
After meetings with representatives of food retail chains at national and regional level, the Ministry of Economy and Industry agreed in principle to include the representatives of the country's retail chains in the "Affordable for You" initiative, the Ministry said. The initiative aims to provide Bulgarian consumers with about 50 basic food products at the best possible price in the entire retail network in the country.
/MY/
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