The civic platform Stand Up.BG submitted a statement to the Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry on the draft Methodology for determining the fair value of goods under Art. 68p, para. 6 of the Food Law, insisting on changing the formula before submitting it to the Council of Ministers.
Izpra se.BG states that they support the very idea of introducing fair value, but warns that in its current form the Methodology will produce an indicator that only confirms today's prices - instead of reducing markups, which according to the sector analysis of the Commission for the Protection of Competition reach 91% for dairy products, 89% for eggs, 135% for mineral water and 73% for minced meat.
“The state cannot oppose markups of over 100% to an indicator that does not generate anything”, states the chairwoman of Izpra se.BG Maya Manolova.
The main considerations of Izpra se.BG:
The Methodology does not foresee any consequences for inflated prices prices;
the list of 17 monitored products is too narrow and does not include products such as yellow cheese, butter, sugar;
the tolerance range of +/- 10% of the fair value actually shifts the threshold upwards;
the wholesale price used in the basis of the Methodology is calculated using exchange prices according to the Bulgarian Consumer Price Index, and not the real net delivery price at which the chains actually buy after discounts, bonuses and listing fees;
the profit rate of the chains, derived from the French experience, guarantees the chains a profitability above the European average.
the “European price parity” component compares products with similar ones in European markets, but without checking for the same composition - for example, yogurt falls into the same category as Greek yogurt, which is strained and contains less water.
Stand up.BG insists on a daily public register of traders with prices above fair value, on the obligation of the CPC to initiate proceedings in the event of a sustained deviation, on the ex officio referral of the CPC under the Law on Protection of Competition and on the possibility of temporary marginal price increases in the event of systemic violations.