site.btaPM Radev: State Protects Producers If Retail Chains Break Commitments

The State will protect Bulgarian citizens and producers if retail chains fail to honour their commitments, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said at a government meeting on Wednesday.

Radev added that he would ask the Minister of Agriculture and Food to urgently check the reports.

“We approached this in entirely good faith, with an expectation of understanding, solidarity and social responsibility. Such a commitment was made very clearly by the retail chains yesterday,” Radev added.

The Care Basket initiative was launched at the Council of Ministers on June 8 as a joint campaign between the government and leading retail chains. It provides for price cuts of at least 15% on products in a basic consumer basket for a minimum of six months, with some chains committing to longer periods or wider product ranges. The government described the measure as voluntary and aimed at easing pressure on vulnerable households amid high food prices.

The initiative drew concern from the Fruit and Vegetable Branch Chamber and the Bulgarian Association of Greenhouse Producers, which warned that its cost could be shifted onto Bulgarian agricultural producers. The two organizations said producers had reported pressure to reduce their supply prices by exactly 15%, with warnings that purchases could otherwise be stopped. They backed efforts to make food more affordable, but cautioned that producers were already facing rising costs.