Chains are cracking us down with food prices – Labor

They sell us cheese up to 22% more expensive than in Greece

We pay more than our neighbor to the south for products of the same brands in the same cuts

Large commercial chains are ripping us off with the prices of several foods, selling them more expensively in Bulgaria than in Greece. “Trud News” newspaper checked the prices of some yellow cheeses of the same brands in cuts of the same weight, sold by an international chain that has many stores in Bulgaria and Greece. It turns out that prices in stores in Bulgaria are up to 22% higher than in our southern neighbor.

For example, a yellow Parmigiano Reggiano cheese matured in a 200-year-old cut in Greece costs €4.19, making €20.95 per kilogram. The same yellow cheese in a package of the same weight from the same manufacturer and with the same brand in a store of the same retail chain in Bulgaria costs BGN 9.99, or BGN 49.95 per kilogram. The price here seems to be 22 percent higher.

For Grana Padano yellow cheese, the price difference is smaller. In Greece, a cut of 200 grams costs 4.29 euros, and a kilo costs 21.45 euros. In a store from the same retail chain in Bulgaria, they sell the same yellow cheese for BGN 8.99, which makes BGN 44.95 per kilogram. The price in Bulgaria is 7% higher than in Greece.

The difference in the price of yellow Gouda cheese, sold in slices for sandwiches in packages of 200 grams, is twice as much. In Greece, the price of this cheese is 1.79 euros, which makes 8.95 euros per kg. In Bulgaria, the same cheese in a store of the same retail chain costs BGN 3.99, or BGN 19.95 per kg. It seems that the price here is 14 percent higher than in Greece.

In the post-pandemic years of high inflation, then-Finance Minister Asen Vassilev said prices in Bulgaria often rose due to imported inflation, and that is, prices in other countries were rising, that is why inflation is high in Bulgaria as well. However, it turns out that the situation is not exactly like that for several foods. The prices of the yellow cheeses called “Trud news” are comparatively higher in our country than in our southern neighbor. And that’s because salaries in Greece are generally higher than in our country. This means higher costs for the sales chain for the employees in the store, for the employees in the warehouses, for the drivers who load the stores, etc. bought for 477.04 Euro. It turns out that the minimum wage in Greece is just twice as high as in Bulgaria. However, the prices of several foods in our southern neighbor are lower than here.

We can take another example – Mozzarella grated in a package of 500 grams in Bulgaria costs BGN 9.99, which makes BGN 19.98 per kg. In Greece, Mozzarella from the same manufacturer, but in a package of 250 grams, costs 2.39 euros, or 9.56 euros per kilogram. It turns out, despite the bigger cut, in Bulgaria the price per kilogram is 6.8% higher than in Greece.

An unusual detail in Bulgaria is that the four yellow cheeses analyzed by “Trud News” have prices at 99 cents – respectively BGN 9.99, BGN 8.99, BGN 3.99 and BGN 9. BGN 99. Marketing method is this is normal for creating prices in the trade and partly explains why the price difference of the three yellow cheeses in Greece and in Bulgaria is different.

The use of prices in Bulgaria often ends at 99 or 9 cents raising concerns among consumers that there will be an increase in prices as a result of our country’s entry into the Eurozone. It is possible that with the introduction of the euro, several traders will decide the prices not only by converting them from levs to euros, but will fix them until they end in 99 or 9 again, but not a penny, but a penny, and that harms consumers.

In Greece, it is cheaper on the beach than here in the store

For chips, the price difference is up to 16.7%

In our country with fennel, in Greece with oregano

Chips sold in Bulgaria are significantly more expensive than in Greece, an investigation by “Trud News” showed. The easiest way is to compare the prices of the same chips sold in stores of the same commercial chain in our country and in our southern neighbor. In Greece, chips with salt in a package of 150 grams cost €1.09, making €7.27 per kilo.

The same chips in the same retail chain, but in a store in Bulgaria, cost BGN 2.49, or BGN 16.60 per kg. It turns out that for the same product, customers in Bulgaria pay 16.7% more than those in Greece.

There are some differences between the chips market in our country and in Greece – in our southern neighbor they sell chips with oregano, and here we often get chips with dill and cream. Although they are of the same brand and sold in chain stores, fennel chips in Bulgaria cost BGN 2.49, while oregano chips in Greece are 1.15 euros. Again, the price in Bulgaria is higher.

As for chips from other brands, sold in other centers, the difference between prices in Bulgaria and Greece is even greater, said a reporter of “Trud news”. In Greece, in a small hut near the beach, you can buy chips at a lower price even than the chips of the same brand sold in Bulgaria at a higher price. With one of the brands of chips, sold both here and in our southern neighbor, packages can be bought in Greece at about twice the lowest prices.

It is cheaper in Poland and Romania

Dairy products in our country are among the most expensive in the EU

We are in third place among the member countries

Bulgaria is among the EU countries with the highest prices for milk, cheese and eggs, according to Eurostat data.

Dairy products in Bulgaria are among the most expensive in EU countries, according to data from the European statistical service Eurostat. In our country, the prices of milk, cheese and eggs are 26.9% higher than the average level for the member countries. And that’s because salaries in the country are several times lower than in more economically developed countries.

Milk, cheese and eggs are more expensive than this, only in Greece (where prices are 38% above the EU average) and Malta (29% above the EU average). According to Eurostat data, the total prices of these three food products are the highest in Greece. But some yellow cheeses in Bulgaria are more expensive even than those in Greece.

Among EU countries, milk, cheese and eggs are the cheapest in Poland and Romania, according to Eurostat data. In Poland, the prices of these foods are 22.2% lower than the average for EU countries, and in Romania, prices are 19.1% lower than the average.

In fact, the prices of milk, cheese and eggs in Belgium are just at the average level for the member countries. It turns out that these basic food products are almost 27% more expensive in our country than in Belgium. And that’s because the minimum wage in Belgium is 2070.48 euros, which is more than four times higher than the minimum wage in Bulgaria.