site.btaUPDATED Industry Organizations Call for Withdrawal of Agrifood Supply Chain Bill

Representatives of various industry organizations united during a public discussion on Tuesday in opposition to the draft Agrifood Supply Chain Act. They argued that the draft legislation is incompatible with European Union law and would have serious negative legal and economic consequences for Bulgaria. According to participants, the bill is neither functional nor practical in improving the food supply chain and should be withdrawn entirely.

The discussion forum was organized under the motto "The Nation's Food Security at Risk" by the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and 15 affiliated industry organizations in response to the proposed law. The event included representatives from the BIA, the Food Drink Bulgaria association, the National Food Council, the Association of Meat Processors in Bulgaria, the National Branch Union of Bakers and Confectioners, the Union of Fruit and Vegetable Processors, the Association of Industrial Pig Breeders in Bulgaria, the Union of Poultry Breeders in Bulgaria, and the Modern Trade Association.

Also participating were Petar Ganev, senior expert at the Institute for Market Economics, and MPs. Notably, there were no representatives from the executive branch or regulatory bodies, despite being invited.

Forum participants also voiced strong dissatisfaction with the bill amending the Law on the Introduction of the Euro in Bulgaria, submitted by the Council of Ministers.

BIA Management Board Chair Dobri Mitrev reminded the attendees that the draft Agrifood Supply Chain Act was released for public consultation on June 13 and is scheduled for parliamentary approval.

“We are deeply concerned about this proposed legislation,” Mitrev said. “Although we support its stated goals such as achieving a fairer balance among participants in the supply chain, improving the market for all actors, and distributing added value more equitably, the actual content of the bill fails to reflect any of these ambitions,” he argued.

Yana Stratieva, Executive Director of the “Food and Drinks Bulgaria” Association, stated that there is a false perception that the aim of the proposed law is to reduce prices. "That is neither its goal nor is it capable of achieving it," she said. "Its purpose is to redistribute profits along the supply chain."

She warned that the draft legislation poses risks for all players in the food chain and replaces the principles of a market economy with a state-led approach, whereby the government decides how much profit each link in the supply chain should receive—without explaining why it assigns different profit margins to each.

According to Stratieva, the draft law will disadvantage farmers, processors, and ultimately consumers, as it will not lead to lower prices. “If we want to keep prices down, we need to stimulate production,” she stated.

“We are not profiteers; we work to ensure food security and have done so successfully through several crises. We ask that no artificial crisis be created—no one has yet managed to bring inflation to zero, as you're trying to,” Stratieva added.

Atanas Urdzhanov, Deputy Chair of the National Food Council and Chair of the Association of Meat Processors in Bulgaria, pointed out that the pork processing sector is already struggling due to insufficient raw materials and reliance on European prices.

He criticized the term “fixed markup” in the proposed bill, arguing that determining the production cost of a product in the sector is extremely difficult. Moreover, the proposed markup does not account for logistics, salaries, or energy costs. "This bill is harmful and could lead to sanctions from the European Commission for interfering in trade," Urdzhanov warned.

Mariana Kukusheva, Chair of the National Union of Bakers and Confectioners, noted that “wherever price caps exist, competition dies.” She emphasised that bread is one of the most logistically demanding products, being transported daily—while diesel prices in Bulgaria continue to rise. “I sincerely hope that regulatory bodies will do their job, identify the cause, and publicly explain why diesel prices in Bulgaria increase every week,” Kukusheva said.

Stoyko Kirovski, Chair of the Union of Fruit and Vegetable Processors, described the situation in the canning industry as dire. While the sector produced 900,000 tonnes annually 35 years ago, today it produces just 150,000 tonnes. He cited a severe lack of raw materials, noting that Bulgarian fruit and vegetable production has shrunk nearly tenfold over the same period.

Tsvetan Iliev, Chair of the Industrial Pig Farming Association, claimed that the draft supply chain bill seems designed primarily to “create work for a future State Planning Commission” and should be withdrawn. He stated that Bulgaria consumes around 500,000 tonnes of pork and poultry annually, compared to no more than 20,000–25,000 tonnes of beef and lamb. Since domestic pork production is insufficient, two-thirds of consumption is met through imports. Iliev stressed that imported products are the main price-setting factor in the pork industry.

Ivaylo Galabov, Chair of the Poultry Farmers' Union, underlined Bulgaria’s choice to operate under a free market. “You cannot regulate a free market with intervention. It has its own mechanisms that work globally,” he said. In his view, prices can only be influenced by fostering better competition.

Nikolay Valkanov, Executive Director of the Modern Trade Association, commented that the planned euro adoption is increasingly being used as a smokescreen by the state to push businesses out of the economy and to redistribute market share.

“The state is turning a blind eye to the consumer,” he warned.

On the proposed amendments to the Euro Introduction Act submitted by the Council of Ministers, Valkanov expressed concern that last-minute changes would give the Consumer Protection Commission powers equivalent to those of the Competition Protection Commission—but without requiring court approval. “The CPC will be able to enter any business premises, suspend operations, and demand information under extremely tight deadlines, with fines of up to 200,000 BGN for non-compliance,” he noted.

Petar Ganev, Senior Economist at the Institute for Market Economics, said that from an economic standpoint, the proposed changes to the euro law are unjustified.

“The main job of any bureaucrat is to make their office bigger—in other words, gain more power. That’s the only logic behind this and the supply chain bill as well,” Ganev said.

According to him, both pieces of legislation aim to increase state control and regulatory power, which could be misused.

“There’s no doubt that all these actions are attempts to concentrate power in certain agencies, individuals, and political figures,” the economist concluded.