site.btaConsumer Basket Holds Steady at EUR 57 Week-on-Week

The consumer basket has remained unchanged from last week at EUR 57. For the same period in 2025, it stood at EUR 53, which means an increase of EUR 4 year-on-year, said Vladimir Ivanov, Chair of the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Wholesale Markets and Head of the Coordination Centre on Euro Adoption, at a regular briefing at the Council of Ministers on Monday.

Ivanov said that out-of-season vegetables continue to post high prices. Since the beginning of 2026, the sharpest increases have been recorded for red peppers (up EUR 1.12), green peppers (up EUR 1.60) and zucchini (up EUR 1.57). Lemons have risen by EUR 0.40 and cucumbers by EUR 0.40.

He explained that these products remain in limited supply on the market, which keeps prices elevated. Tomatoes are also trading at relatively high seasonal levels, having increased by EUR 0.17 since the start of the year. Expectations are that with warmer weather and the arrival of mass domestic production, prices will begin to ease.

Seasonal staples such as potatoes, cabbage, carrots and onions are in good supply and show only minimal fluctuations, ranging between 2% and 3% since the beginning of the year.

A marked stabilization has been observed in basic food products. Sugar, beans, rice and flour have posted slight declines compared with the start of the year. Eggs are at their early-year levels. The cooking oil market is stable, with no significant changes despite developments in South America.

Pork has fallen by EUR 0.32 since the beginning of the year, while chicken has risen by 8%. Yellow cheese is up EUR 0.18 and butter by EUR 0.17.

On an annual basis, the consumer basket is EUR 4 more expensive than in the same period in 2025 – EUR 57 now compared with EUR 53 then. Last week, the difference was EUR 5. Ivanov said the increase is driven mainly by fruit and vegetables, while most staple foods remain close to the price levels of 2025.

Year-on-year, the most significant price increases are seen in tomatoes (up 30%), cucumbers (up 46%), zucchini (up 100%), lemons (up 69%), red peppers (up 19%) and green peppers (up 3%). Price declines have been recorded for potatoes (down 23%), cabbage (down 32%), carrots (down 3%) and onions (down 25%).

Among basic foods, sugar is down 3%, beans 11%, rice 3% and pork 1%. Fresh and yoghurt milk have retained their price levels. Chicken is up 6%, yellow and white cheese are each up 5%, butter is up 5%, cooking oil 2% and flour 3%. Eggs show a sharp annual increase of 37%, reflecting 2025’s relatively low price of around EUR 0.16 per piece compared with about EUR 0.22 now.

Ivanov concluded that the market is stable and functioning normally in a competitive environment, with the main challenges remaining insufficient efficiency and inadequate domestic production.