Traders and producers are screwing us hard with the price of cheese and yellow cheese

Traders and manufacturers of dairy products are ripping us off with the price of yellow cheese and cheese. The purchase price of milk is decreasing, and the prices of yellow cheese and cheese in stores continue to rise, writes “Trud”.

The purchase price of milk averages BGN 0.87 per liter, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture. This is a decrease of more than 17 percent compared to the purchase price of milk last year at this time. But the cheapening of the raw material does not lead to a decrease in the prices of dairy products.

The wholesale price of cheese has reached BGN 20.71 per kg, which is a 5.4% increase for the year. The increase in the retail price is more than twice the increase in the wholesale price. The average price of cheese in stores is BGN 25.12 per kg, with a 12.2% price increase for the year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture.

The situation is similar with cheese and fresh milk. Despite the decrease in milk purchase prices, the price of cheese increased by 7.4% to BGN 17.54 per kg. Wholesale fresh milk has risen in price by 6.2% in a year, and the increase in prices in stores is twice as great – by 12.5%, to an average of BGN 3.25 per liter.

The data show that the increase in prices is throughout the chain – both at milk processors and at traders, but at traders the price increase is twice as large.

The purchase price of milk in Bulgaria is slightly below the average for EU countries. In our country, the purchase price is around 42 euros per 100 kg, compared to 44 euros on average for EU countries. In 14 EU member countries, the purchase price of milk is higher than here, and in the rest it is lower. The highest purchase price of milk is in Cyprus (64 euros per 100 kg), Malta (56 euros) and Greece (52 euros).

The lowest purchase price is in Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden – around 36-37 euros per 100 kg. At the same time, the final price of milk in shops in Bulgaria is one of the highest for European countries.

Producers are raising the prices of fresh milk and dairy products, while reducing production. For the period from January to August, fresh milk produced in the country was 43.1 thousand tons, compared to 46.5 thousand tons for the same period last year and 52.9 thousand tons for the first eight months of 2021.

It turns out that in just two years, the production of fresh milk has decreased by more than 18 percent. This also explains the rise in prices in stores.

The situation is similar with yogurt. From January to August, 110.9 thousand tons of yogurt were produced, which is 6.6% less than the production for the same period in 2021.

Follow the latest news with BLITZ and on Telegram. Join the channel here