Price check: White cheese and dairy cost more in Sofia than in Berlin

Dairy products in Bulgaria are in some cases more expensive than in Germany. That is the finding of a price check carried out by Bulgarian broadcaster bTV on Oct. 23, 2026, in supermarkets in Sofia and Berlin. An 800-gram pack of white brined cheese (sirene) of the same brand and from the same retail chain cost €10.99 in Sofia and €9.99 in Berlin. A basket of four products – a kilogram of yogurt, butter, white cheese and a liter of fresh milk – came to €18.69 in Sofia and €16.26 in Berlin, or €2.43 less. In Berlin, a kilogram of yogurt cost €2.89, a liter of milk €1.59 and 250 grams of butter on promotion €1.79. The retail chain did not respond to a request from bTV.

The background is a series of checks by Bulgaria's Commission for Consumer Protection (KZP). According to its findings, reported by bTV on Oct. 20, 2026, large retail chains applied markups of up to 135% on butter, 68% to 99% on fresh milk, 53% to 95% on white cheese and 75% to 99% on kashkaval. Normal markups in the EU, for example in Germany, are between 15% and 25%, said KZP chair Maya Manolova. In bTV's Oct. 23 report she added: "Because of these markups, we have the paradox that one and the same product is more expensive in Sofia than in Berlin." The KZP plans to report alleged discriminatory conduct toward suppliers to the competition authority KZK; if retailers cannot justify price increases, fines of €10,000 to €100,000 per product are possible, according to the KZP.

Retailers disagree. Neither markup nor gross margin means net profit for the retailer, the Modern Trade Association (SMT) said; profits in Bulgaria are comparable to the EU average. Only official data can give clear answers, the association said. Economist Adrian Nikolov, cited by bTV, also pointed out that dairy products have long been comparatively expensive in Bulgaria and Greece, partly because of a shortage of raw milk, and said blaming the chains alone is unjustified. The bTV comparison is a spot check of individual stores, not official statistics.