Wholesale Prices of Basic Foodstuffs Continue to Rise Across Bulgaria

The trend of rising prices for some basic foodstuffs, fruits, and vegetables continued this week, according to the State Commission for Commodity Exchanges and Markets (DKSBT). The market price index (MPI), which tracks wholesale food prices, increased by 0.68% to 2.065 points, compared to 2.051 points last week. The base level of the MPI is set at 1,000 points, established in 2005.

Greenhouse cucumbers saw an 8% price increase to 2.88 leva per kilogram, while open-field tomatoes decreased by 2.4% to 1.64 leva per kilogram. Green peppers rose by 8.4% to 1.78 leva per kilogram, and red peppers by 4.1% to 1.90 leva per kilogram. Potatoes increased by 4.2% to 1.12 leva per kilogram, and carrots rose by 1.4% to the same price. However, ripe onions dropped 6.6% to 1.06 leva per kilogram, and cabbage decreased slightly by 0.5% to 1.02 leva per kilogram.

Among fruits, lemons went up by 4.1% to 3.53 leva per kilogram, and bananas increased by 1% to 2.73 leva per kilogram. On the other hand, peaches and grapes became cheaper by 1.3%, now priced at 2.06 leva and 2.40 leva per kilogram, respectively. Watermelons saw a small price rise of 0.8% to 0.62 leva per kilogram.

Dairy products also saw price fluctuations. Cow's cheese increased by 0.9% to 11.27 leva per kilogram, while "Vitosha" cheese went up by 0.7% to 16.91 leva per kilogram. Yogurt, with 3% or higher fat content, fell in price by 0.8% to 1.25 leva for a 400-gram bucket, but fresh milk with 3% fat content rose by 1.3% to 2.33 leva per liter.

In the meat and eggs category, chicken meat increased by 1.2% to 6.32 leva per kilogram, while eggs (size M) went up by 0.8% to 0.30 leva per piece.