Agriculture Minister Plamen Abrovski has announced a new government-backed initiative called “Care Basket,” aimed at making essential food products more affordable and curbing price increases across retail chains in Bulgaria.
Speaking in a Nova TV interview, Abrovski said the program is expected to be introduced next week and could lead to a reduction of more than 10 percent in the prices of basic goods. Participation by both large supermarket chains and smaller retailers will be voluntary, he noted.
He stressed that the initiative is part of broader measures targeting price speculation in the sector, including rules designed to ensure that discounts and promotions are not financed at the expense of suppliers. According to the minister, the goal is to establish what he described as shared responsibility between producers and retailers, structured on a 50-50 basis.
“We want shared responsibility between the different participants in the chain. Competition is strong, but there must be fairness. The effect of the measures will be positive, and very soon we will present the ‘Care Basket’ initiative as the first step toward lower prices,” Abrovski said.
He also rejected concerns that the new policy would eliminate promotional campaigns, clarifying that promotions will still be allowed but must not shift financial pressure onto suppliers. At the same time, he criticized pricing practices where imported goods are sometimes sold with lower margins than domestic products.
