Rules for mark-ups in stores and regulated prices for 22 basic food products are provided for in a new draft law, which was presented today at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. "As a government, we are obliged to take care of consumers. We will try to regulate 22 products out of over 5,000 products in the chains. The state is not against business. But we want to guarantee a fair price for everyone along the chain - from producer to retailer," Agriculture Minister Georgi Tahov said. 

The document stipulates that at least half of the milk and dairy products, meat, eggs, honey and seasonal fruits and vegetables in large retail chains must be Bulgarian. Buyers will have the right to buy from farmers at a price that is not below cost price plus 10% of the value of the respective product. Retail chains will not have the right to put a mark-up higher than 20% on products. According to Tahov, if the law achieves its goals, it will result in a 20% reduction in the final prices of food products, BNR reporter Vesselina Milanova informed.