The "Fruit and Vegetables" Branch Chamber supported the position stated by Prime Minister Rumen Radev that Bulgaria should introduce a model of transparency and fairness along the agri-food chain, similar to the one in Germany - with clear tracking of pricing, limiting excessive markups and counteracting unfair trade practices.
The "Fruit and Vegetables" sector has been insisting on this for years - for rules, transparency and real protection of both Bulgarian consumers and Bulgarian producers, the chamber specified and added:
If Bulgaria wants to implement the German model, it should be considered in its entirety. In Germany, food is taxed at a reduced VAT rate of 7%, while in Bulgaria, food continues to be taxed at 20% VAT - one of the highest rates in the European Union. Competitiveness and lower prices for consumers cannot be demanded without taking into account the tax and economic conditions under which the sector operates.
The BCPZ believes that full transparency is necessary along the "producer - retailer - end consumer" chain, including clarity regarding real delivery prices, transport costs, markups and mechanisms for forming the final price.
The public admissions made on NOVA by the executive director of the Association for Modern Trade Nikolay Valkanov that in certain cases retail chains sell products at prices minus 5% below the delivery value are particularly worrying. This raises extremely serious questions.
Selling below the delivery price is a form of dumping and is a classic example of an unfair trade practice that destroys competition, distorts the market and places producers in dependence. Such practices may temporarily seem to benefit the consumer, but in the long run they lead to bankruptcies of local producers, market concentration and even greater dependence on imports.
The same television appearance also commented on an example given by the Secretary General of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mark Tsekov, of tomatoes that enter the country at a price of around 0.95 euros per kilogram, but reach the end consumer at prices of 4 - 4.5 euros per kilogram. In response, it was stated that some of the imports involve practices with understated invoice values. If such allegations are true, this means that the state must immediately strengthen control over imports, customs valuations and the real value of the declared goods. BCPZ believes in the professionalism of state authorities, but the words of the executive director of the Association for Modern Trade cast a big shadow on the control of the border between Bulgaria and the EU. As producers who daily show our production and the price at which we sell it, we also invite retail chains to inform their customers where they buy the goods they offer for their customers.
BCPZ insists on:
• full transparency in the agri-food chain;
• effective control over unfair trade practices and dumping;
• enhanced control over imports and suspicions of understated invoice values;
• protection of Bulgarian producers from price pressure and market distortions;
• policies that guarantee real competitiveness of Bulgarian production.
Bulgarian fruits and vegetables cannot survive in an environment of opacity, double standards and unfair competition. The state has the obligation to guarantee fair rules for all participants in the chain - from the producer to the final consumer.