Bulgarian producers are placed in a disadvantaged position compared to large retail chains, and the state should intervene not by regulating prices, but by guaranteeing fair competition in the market. This was stated on bTV by Kancho Stoychev – Deputy Chairman of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria (AIKB) and Chairman of the Association “Made in Bulgaria“.
According to him, the topic of relations between producers and retail chains is not new, but is a cause that has been worked on for more than a decade.
“The Bulgarian producer is placed in a slave position. We do not want preferences. We only want to be equal in our own country“, Stoychev said.
He pointed out that Bulgarian companies are under serious pressure through various taxes, discounts and trade conditions, which, according to him, do not apply to suppliers from the countries where large international chains are based.
According to Stoychev, it is wrongly suggested in the public sphere that the legislative changes being prepared envisage the state setting the prices of goods.
“It is not the state's job to set prices at all. If we are a market economy, the state should not set prices. Its role is to ensure fair competition,“ he said.
According to him, the problem is the lack of transparency in price formation and the presence of market distortions.
“The task is to shine a spotlight on pricing and see where costs and profits accumulate,“ Stoychev added.
The chairman of the “Made in Bulgaria“ Association commented that the lack of competition is not only a problem in the food trade sector.
“We live in a country of monopolies and cartels. This is visible in mobile operators, utilities and in a number of other sectors,“ he said.
According to him, it is precisely limited competition that is among the reasons for higher prices and pressure on the incomes of Bulgarian citizens.
Kancho Stoychev also commented on the recommendations for switching to a more progressive taxation.
He defended the flat tax and emphasized that this is one of Bulgaria's few competitive advantages.