The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (CITUB) is pushing for legal amendments that would change how prices are displayed in stores. The proposal suggests that, alongside the retail price, each product should also carry a label showing the price set by the producer or importer.

As Bulgaria moves toward adopting the euro, the CITUB also plans to begin tracking the prices of essential consumer goods on a monthly basis. This monitoring effort is intended to bring more transparency during the currency transition and to help prevent unjustified price increases.

The trade union has signed a cooperation agreement with the Commission for the Protection of Competition and is working to set up a Public Council to assist the institution. The goal is to facilitate regular information sharing among institutions. The National Revenue Agency will be tasked with compiling and supplying this data, initially on a weekly schedule, and later every two weeks.

Plamen Dimitrov, President of the CITUB, explained the rationale behind the proposal during an appearance on NOVA NEWS. He argued that such transparency would empower consumers to assess whether a price is inflated. “The consumer is the biggest control body,” Dimitrov said. “If people can compare the price from the producer with what the store is charging, they’ll be able to judge whether the markup is reasonable or excessive.”

He emphasized that this measure wouldn’t create an additional burden for businesses, noting that the Food Act already requires detailed traceability of origin for many goods - right down to identifying the specific animal from which a product was derived.

At the same time, Dimitrov acknowledged that the proposal is likely to face resistance from retailers. “Many traders won’t welcome this. Because once producer prices are displayed, it becomes obvious how the final price is formed. In some cases, retail markups exceed 300%,” he said.

There is also ongoing discussion about potentially regulating markup levels through legislation, but Dimitrov noted that such an approach would be even more complex to implement in practice.