site.btaConsumer Basket Price Down by BGN 2 to BGN 99 in Past Week

The price of the consumer basket has gone down by BGN 2 in the past week, from BGN 101 to BGN 99, said Vladimir Ivanov, Chair of the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Wholesale Markets, during a news briefing on Monday.

He explained that this is not due to deflation, but to seasonal fluctuations, which are typical.

Ivanov added that the decrease is mainly due to variations in vegetables and a slight decrease in pork, chicken, and yogurt.

In the past week, prices for zucchini, cabbage, red and green peppers also decreased. Watermelons were also cheaper. Prices remained unchanged for flour, sugar, legumes, rice, eggs, cooking oil, butter, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Prices went up for yellow cheese, white cheese, apples, lemons, and peaches.

Ivanov noted that the variations were quite small. He presented the changes in product prices from May 20 to date. Sugar cost BGN 1.87 per kilogram at the beginning of this period, and is currently BGN 1.94 per kilogram. Beans are currently sold at BGN 4.25 per kilogram, down from BGN 4.35 per kilogram. Rice is currently at the same price as at the beginning of the period, BGN 3.38 per kilogram. Flour has gone up in price from BGN 1.54 per kilogram to BGN 1.58 per kilogram. Cooking oil, which was BGN 3.15 per liter on May 20, is currently selling for BGN 3.18 per litre. Eggs, which were sold at BGN 0.34 per piece  at the beginning of the current week, are now trading at BGN 0.35 per piece. Ivanov noted that this is the first change in egg prices in the last three months.

The price of yellow kashkaval cheese, which was BGN 18.60 on May 20, is currently BGN 18.10 per kilogram, and white brine cheese has gone up in price from BGN 11.40 to BGn 11.55 per kilogram. Butter was sold at BGN 3.17 at the beginning of the period, and currently it is sold at BGN 3.08 for a 125-gram package.

Yogurt, which was sold at BGN 1.43 on May 20 this week, is now trading at BGN 1.38  for a 400-gram package. Fresh milk was BGN 2.36 at the beginning of the period and is now available at BGN 2.39 per litre.

Pork, which was sold at BGN 10.27 at the beginning of the period, is currently selling for BGN 9.95 per kilogram, while chicken has gone up in price from BGN 6.75 to BGN 6.80 per kilogram.

Tomatoes were sold at BGN 2.47 on May 20 and are now BGN 2.36 per kilogram. Cucumbers, which were BGN 1.94 at the beginning of the period, are currently sold at BGN 1.59per kilogram, and potatoes have gone down in price from BGN 1.39 to BGN 1.04 per kilogram.