Food and beverage companies have reported record turnover for the past 12 years, growing at over 36% year-on-year through 2022. This was said by Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stojanov during the forum ‘Yes! To Bulgarian food’. He added that more than 5,000 companies operate in the industry, employing about 70,000 people.
‘The food industry is among the sectors that have been developing steadily in recent years in Bulgaria, but it has much greater potential,’ Minister Stojanov emphasized. He pointed out that the sector enables a balanced development of the regions in the country because of the good conditions that exist at the national level.
Minister Stojanov also commented on the government’s actions to reduce food prices, which are in three directions — better information, stricter control and legislative changes. ‘We are about to publish for public consultation a draft law on trade mark-ups,’ Nikola Stojanov said. In his words, in parallel, work is underway on the preparation of a Food Trade Act.
Nikola Stojanov explained that since the launch of the price monitoring website, it is visited by an average of 10,000 people a day. ‘We are also counting on the activity of retail chains — if they get involved in the process, the site will give an even more complete picture for consumers and producers,’ the Minister of Economy said, adding that it is also an opportunity to track some price trends. The Minister gave the example that through it the producers can monitor whether when the price is reduced in their stores, it is also reduced in the retail chains.
‘We are actively working to expand the market presence of LB Bulgaricum throughout the country, because we believe that this is also a mechanism for increasing competition in the market, to the benefit of the end consumer,’ Nikola Stojanov further said. He explained that even with the reduced prices in the state-owned dairy company’s stores, the company is once again profitable and absolutely all quality standards are being met.
Organizers of the event are Standard media. The discussion was attended by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Georgi Sabev, representatives of the executive, business, Bulgarian producers, processors and traders.