site.btaMost Food Prices Remain Stable in 2025, Consumer Watchdog Reports

The Chairman of the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Markets (SCCEWM), Vladimir Ivanov, at a weekly briefing on prices and trends in wholesale trade in fruits, vegetables, and basic food products described the outgoing 2025 as a year of market stabilization after the severe instability in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Alexander Kolyachev, acting chairman of the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC), and Tsvetislava Lakova, a member of the commission, who also participated in the briefing, presented data on the state of the retail market, which, according to them, fully coincides with the SCCEWM observations of the wholesale market.

Ivanov provided information on the dynamics of wholesale prices of basic foodstuffs from January 1 to December 22, 2025. The price of sugar at the beginning of the period was BGN 1.98, and at the end BGN 1.82. The price of mature beans dropped from BGN 4.34 to 4.23 at the end of the period. Rice remained at BGN 3.35, while the price of flour rose from BGN 1.43 at the beginning to BGN 1.53 at the end. The price of sunflower oil dropped from BGN 3.34 to BGN 3.31, and eggs from BGN 0.36 to 0.43. Vitosha-type yellow kashkaval cheese cost BGN 17.57 at the beginning and BGN 18.52 at the end. The price of white brined cheese from cow's milk varied from BGN 11.50 to BGN 11.81. The price of butter from cow's milk, for 125 grams package, dropped from BGN 3.08 to BGN 3.04. Yoghurt, with a fat content of 3% and over, rose from BGN 1.32 per 400 grams in January to BGN 1.39 in December. Milk 3% cost BGN 2.47 per litre in January and BGN 2.37 per litre in December. The price of pork at the beginning of the year was BGN 10.10 and in December – BGN 10.66. The price of frozen poultry changed from BGN 6.39 to BGN 7.00.

The price dynamics for vegetables and fruits this year, from January 1 to December 22, are as follows: the price of tomatoes varies from BGN 3.43 to BGN 3.02; cucumbers - from BGN 3.37 to 4.51; potatoes - from BGN 3.37 to 3.02; cabbage - from BGN 1.33 to 0.73; carrots - from BGN 1.24 to 1.07; onions - from BGN 1.05 to 0.86; red peppers - from BGN 4.80 to 2.68; green peppers - from BGN 4.68 to 2.38; zucchini - from BGN 2.88 to 2.20 leva; lemons - from BGN 2.35 to 3.14; bananas - from BGN 2.78 to 2.64; grapes -from BGN 3.63 to 3.27; oranges - from BGN 1.85 to 2.23 and apples - from BGN 1.60 to 2.14.

The SCCEWM also monitored international price trends. According to Ivanov, wheat has been trading below USD 200 per tonne for more than a year and a half, and the situation is similar for corn. The price of white refined sugar remains well below the peak values of 2022. Vegetable oil has seen moderate annual growth, explained by a weaker harvest for the second consecutive year. Cocoa and coffee prices have also stabilised at higher levels. Cocoa is trading at around USD 6, while Arabica coffee is trading at around USD 9 and Robusta at USD 5. 

"We have an international environment that is quite favourable from a market perspective, and there is no reason to expect a rapid or extreme rise. Let's hope that the beginning of next year will start the same way, especially after transfer costs decrease with the introduction of the euro," Ivanov said. 

Alexander Kolyachev from the CPC stated that the commission's observations on the retail market fully coincide with those on wholesale trade. According to him, the CPC monitors the price dynamics of 101 goods throughout the country, and from October 9 to December 15, no change in prices was reported for over 88.5% of them. Only 11.5% of the products show movement, which in most cases is minimal.

Kolyachev emphasized that in the event of more significant increases, the CPC requires justification from traders and, in the absence of objective economic reasons, sanctions are imposed. According to him, such cases are rare and affect a limited number of goods.

"The change in prices of these products is minimal in most cases, but sometimes there are sharp rises," Kolyachev said. "When we notice a larger increase, we intervene on the market. We request information to justify the price rise. If we find that it is not based on objective economic factors, we immediately take measures to sanction these traders. Fortunately, these are extremely rare cases and involve only a small number of goods or products."

Tsvetislava Lakova provided details about the CPC’s intervention and control activities. According to her report, 3,208 inspections were carried out in physical stores between October 9 and December 19, 2025. The most common violations found were the lack of prices in euros and leva, problems with dual labelling, including unjustified price increases. To date, a variety of commercial outlets selling both food and non-food products have been inspected. 

A total of 251 reports of administrative violations have been drawn up, 50 for unjustified price increases, and 78 penalty orders have been issued, Lakova said. Control has been extended to the service sector, including hairdressers, annual motor vehicle inspections, and medical laboratory test providers, the CPC added.