High markups on dairy: Bulgarian authorities inspect retail chains' warehouses
Consumer protection, food safety and revenue agencies are jointly examining the supply chain. Suppliers, producers and small shops are to follow.
Symbolic image · Photo: Sharon Hahn Darlin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Bulgaria's Commission for Consumer Protection, the Food Safety Agency and the National Revenue Agency have begun joint inspections at the warehouses of large retail chains. The trigger was new data on steep markups on dairy products, BNT reported. The authorities want to make the supply chain transparent, starting with logistics centres. Violations will be sanctioned, and issues outside their remit will be passed on to the relevant bodies.
“What we will be checking is the entire supply chain,” Agriculture Minister Plamen Abrovski said. Once an overall picture is ready next week, the food safety and revenue agencies will move on to suppliers and producers. The state also intends to check small neighbourhood shops, wholesale exchanges and markets for markups.
The chain under inspection said it is checked more than 100 times a month and publishes reports on its markups. It rejected the margins cited in public debate and said it expected a meeting on the sector's problems. No results of the inspections had been announced so far.