site.btaVegetable Prices Fall on Wholesale Markets in Bulgaria

Prices of most vegetables fell on Bulgaria’s wholesale markets this week, data from the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Wholesale Markets (SCEWT) showed on Sunday. The market price index dropped by 1.36% to 2.746 points.

The index, which tracks wholesale food prices in Bulgaria, stood at 2.784 points a week earlier. Its base level of 1.000 points was set in 2005.

Among vegetables, cucumbers posted the steepest decline, down 20.65% to EUR 1.72 per kg, followed by tomatoes, down 19.32% to EUR 2.36 per kg. Courgettes also fell sharply, by 15.1% to EUR 1.56 per kg. Carrots fell 6.45% to EUR 0.58 per kg, cabbage 6.05% to EUR 0.66 per kg, and green peppers 1.75% to EUR 3.79 per kg. Red peppers, by contrast, rose 6.38% to EUR 3.79 per kg.

Potatoes rose sharply, up 12.82% to EUR 0.55 per kg. Lettuce gained 9.09% to EUR 0.96 per item, while dry onions edged up 0.45% to EUR 0.56 per kg.

Among fruit, apples rose 5.91% to EUR 1.30 per kg, while lemons gained 2.82% to EUR 2.10 per kg. Oranges fell 3.17% to EUR 1.30 per kg, and bananas slipped 1.48% to EUR 1.50 per kg.

Cow’s milk white brined cheese fell 1.39% to EUR 6.03 per kg, while Vitosha-type kashkaval cheese rose 2.39% to EUR 9.63 per kg. Yoghurt with 3% or more fat was down 1.81% from a week earlier at EUR 0.68 per 400 g cup, while fresh milk fell 7.32% to EUR 1.14 per litre. Cow’s butter in 125 g packs also eased, down 3.47% to EUR 1.46 per item.

Frozen chicken meat rose 3.16% to EUR 3.75 per kg, while size M eggs gained 1.1% to EUR 0.23 per item wholesale.

Rice rose 4.32% to EUR 1.69 per kg, and lentils gained 3.29% to EUR 2.12 per kg. Dry beans also rose, up 3.99% to EUR 2.15 per kg, while sugar edged up 0.55% to EUR 0.91 per kg. Sunflower oil fell 1.66% to EUR 1.78 per litre, and type 500 flour declined 1.27% to EUR 0.78 per kg.

Data show wholesale food prices in Bulgaria have been volatile but broadly rising since mid-February, when the Wholesale Food Price Index stood at 2.519 points, compared with 2.784 points in the April 14-17 reporting week. The gains were driven mainly by seasonal shifts in fruit and vegetable prices. The 27-item consumer basket reached EUR 58 in February, while SCEWT attributed the increase largely to fruit and vegetable prices and put the euro-adoption effect at below 0.5%.

Broader price data also point to continued food-price pressure. Annual inflation reached 4.1% in March, with food and non-alcoholic beverages up 0.5% month on month, while the Bulgarian National Bank identified food as the largest contributor to the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices growth as of February.