Bulgarian farmers have warned that suppliers to retail chains are pressuring them to cut purchase prices by 15% following the launch of the government’s “Care Basket” initiative, which promotes discounted basic food products.
The program encourages stores to offer items from the basic consumer basket with voluntary discounts of 15% to 30%, with an emphasis on Bulgarian-made goods. However, agricultural groups say the policy is already having unintended consequences for producers.
The National Branch Chamber “Fruit and Vegetables” and the Bulgarian Association of Greenhouse Producers sent a joint letter to state institutions expressing concern that suppliers began demanding lower prices shortly after the initiative was announced.
In the letter, the organizations state: “Following the initiative ‘Basket with Care’ announced by you and your government… we would like to express our support for your effort to provide Bulgarian citizens with fairer and lower prices for basic food products.”
They add that producers have since reported direct pressure from retail suppliers. “Just a day after your meeting with the retail chains, we began to receive signals from Bulgarian producers… that they are being pressured to reduce their delivery prices by exactly 15 percent,” the letter reads.
