Food industry challenges proposed ‘fair value’ pricing mechanism

Fifteen national food industry organisations in Bulgaria have called for a review of the Economy Ministry’s proposed method for calculating the so-called “fair value” of basic food products. The mechanism would set a reference value for 17 product categories using a range of price and market indicators. Prices deviating from that benchmark by more than 10% would be subject to monitoring.

Industry groups argue that the method could produce distorted results because it relies on averages across broad product categories and uses the cheapest products as key benchmarks. This, they say, fails to account for differences in quality, brand, origin and package size.

They also warn that the mechanism could have the opposite effect from the one intended. If the published “fair value” is higher than actual market prices, retailers could begin treating it as a benchmark, pushing prices up rather than bringing them down.

The industry is calling for the proposed method to be thoroughly reviewed.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova