The Ministry of Economy gathered producers and traders to discuss the methodology for calculating the so-called "fair value" of basic food products.
The formula is already the subject of public discussion, but serious questions remain about the way in which the "fair price" will be determined.
"Fair Price"
"For what purpose is it being done - I could not comment, but anyway such a concept as "fair price" and a formula behind it will not change the rules. This "fair price" will not change anything. The idea is perhaps to have a point on the horizon and to look at whether someone is too high or too low. Of course, in the end this will be a subjective fair price, because it will depend on the formula that this working group will develop, and it may vary depending on the formula that is chosen," said former Minister of Economy Nikola Stoyanov in the studio of "Denyat ON AIR".
He said that he would be interested in seeing the formula that will be developed.
"It will not change the rules, but it will provide a guideline. The goal is to see where there is distortion, because at the moment, as far as I can see, the government is not moving towards administrative coercion, but is trying to have traceability. For people, the fair price is the one that is lower. The negative from the end customers always goes to the one from whom they buy. A decrease should be expected, because I and many other experts are convinced that there are distortions along the chain. In places along the chain, very large markups accumulate", Stoyanov added on Bulgaria ON AIR.
The Minimum Wage
"There is no way for unions, employers and the state to agree on the MRW, since each of them has a different role and different desires. In this case, the state is trying to balance, the unions want wages to be higher, and the employers want them to be lower, so that their members can have more profit and be able to afford more things. From the proposed new formula with the four criteria, which have equal weight, it is difficult to understand in which direction the state is trying to achieve balance. Currently, all four criteria have equal weight. The one criterion that was there until now is retained - the commitment to the average wage", the former Minister of Economy emphasized.
According to him, there are very large distortions in the average wage.
"There are people with very high incomes and they raise the average wage. And the median wage will give a line - as many people as there are below it, there will be as many people above it. An important element is that the small consumer basket is introduced. The right move is to look for a new mechanism. This mechanism with the average wage was far from reality. On the one hand, there is no dialogue, and on the other - everyone is starting to feel a sense of crisis due to the excessive deficit," the guest explained.
And according to him, currently, priority should be given to attracting investors.