site.btaThere Are No Economic or Production Reasons for Food Price Increases, Says Agriculture Minister Tahov

There are no economic or production reasons for the increase in food prices, Agriculture Minister Georgi Tahov told bTV on Sunday. 

He said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food conducts daily analyses of agricultural products in the retail network and that there are no prerequisites for price increases.

Tahov said this increase is just speculation—someone is trying to take advantage of the moment before the switch to the euro to get a higher base price. The Minister of Agriculture recalled that the state is taking care to prevent this from happening with increased checks by the regulatory authorities - the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC), the Commission for Consumer Protection (CCP) and the National Revenue Agency (NRA). 

According to Tahov, Bulgaria's entry into the eurozone is one of the most significant events happening in the country.

As for the draft law on the agri-food chain, the Minister of Agriculture recalled that its aim is to strike a balance between the different levels of the agri-food chain – producer, reseller/purchaser and retail chain. “I believe we are achieving this,” he noted. 

According to Tahov, both positive and negative opinions have been expressed during the public consultation process. He assured that after the process ends on July 14, all opinions will be taken into account and the best ones will be multiplied so that the law is stable enough to be implemented. “I assert that if this bill becomes law, there will be a stable regulatory framework that regulatory authorities can use, and all consumers will feel the benefits,” said the Minister of Agriculture.

Regarding criticism of the cap on markups included in the bill, Tahov said that he had not heard any reasonable arguments against it. He recalled that the measure to cap markups is temporary—it will be valid for one year after the bill is passed. The agriculture minister added that markup caps exist in many European Union (EU) countries, such as Romania, Hungary, and Croatia, where this measure works and achieves its effect.

According to Tahov, it is “high time to introduce good regulatory measures and implement them.” He expressed hope that the bill would be put to a vote in the plenary hall before the summer recess. 

On the subject of state-owned stores, the Minister of Agriculture said that the ministry's ambition is for them to start operating in September. He stressed that the task is not an easy one. “For the first time, a line ministry, in the person of the Ministry of Agriculture, has undertaken to develop technology and methodology for the operation of such stores,” he said.

Takhov recalled that the stores will be located in commercial premises of the Central Cooperative Union (CCU), which has over 600 stores and a turnover of several million in 2024. “This is a very stable structure, and with the so-called mobile stores, which are also part of its structure—stores on wheels—we can reach hard-to-reach areas where consumers do not have access to products,” said the Minister of Agriculture.

According to him, the stores are expected to have all the products from the small consumer basket.

On the subject of destroyed production, Minister Tahov said that this spring is incomparable in terms of natural disasters to those observed in the last 50 years. He assured that a well-organized system has been set up, all inspections have been completed, and the reports are being processed, but the photographic material has revealed many areas that are not in good agronomic condition, and it is clear that the orchards have not been properly cared for in terms of their functioning. “We are currently conducting an analysis and will carry out repeat checks so that where no effort has really been made and only direct subsidies have been relied upon, they will be denied,” Tahov said. In this way, the budget for all others will be increased.

The Minister of Agriculture added that the culture of crop insurance in Bulgaria is low. He recalled that this year a new intervention was launched, through which the State Fund “Agriculture” (SFA) covers up to 70% of the insurance premium. “We provoked interest, but not enough,” Tahov commented and expressed hope that the insurance culture will grow.

Regarding the third vote of no confidence in the government, Tahov described the motives as “absurd.” “With approved convergence reports on fiscal policy, to claim that there is non-compliance with fiscal policy is absurd to me,” he said. The Agriculture Minister was adamant that the Cabinet would survive this time as well.