The prices of products included in a basic consumer basket will be reduced by 15% for at least six months under the National Care Basket initiative, a joint campaign between the government and leading retail chains, Minister of Agriculture and Food Plamen Abrovski said at the launch of the initiative at the Council of Ministers on Friday.

Abrovski said some retail chains had committed to maintaining the discounts for a longer period and to expanding the range of products covered by the initiative.

He thanked representatives of the participating retail chains for the intensive discussions held over the past two weeks and for voluntarily joining the campaign to help Bulgarian consumers gain access to affordable, high-quality food.

In an interview earlier on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry Alexander Poulev said that the immediate priority was to address a much more pressing short-term challenge by demonstrating solidarity and social responsibility towards the most vulnerable households, pensioners and people in need of strong support and coordination between the government and modern retail chains.

Poulev said the initiative was intended to help vulnerable groups cope with the effects of the successive crises that have affected household budgets.

The event was opened by Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who said that keeping price increases of essential food products under control was one of the government’s top priorities.

He thanked the chains for their cooperation and social responsibility. “These are not promotions, but a voluntary commitment that you make to the government and to the Bulgarian citizens,” Radev addressed the chain representatives. He added that the next step is the cooperation between the chains, the government and Bulgarian producers, who will work to strengthen and expand production, so that there is price stability, greater competition and quality.

Albena Georgieva from Billa pointed out that the initiative aims to achieve accessibility of basic food products. From June 18, over 100 products will be available in the chain’s retail network, marked in a special way. They have been selected from the best-selling products from these categories, in which Bulgarian production is also included, she said.

Toni Petkova from the Dar retail chain said that the products with a minimum of 15% reduction are from 28 categories with a minimum of 40 items, which they will maintain for a period of six months.

Ivan Chernev from Kaufland said that the chain will sell basic products at affordable prices from Monday. The initiative covers the most frequently purchased products for every household, he added.

Diana Georgieva from the CBA retail chain noted that about 50 products will be reduced by at least 15% to 30% from June 11.

Milena Dragijska from Lidl explained that the chain will start with just over 30 products with reduced prices, and half of them are from Bulgarian producers. “We are prepared to continue this initiative for eight months, but we think it should cover the winter season as well,” she added.

Evgeni Mitev from Metro said that from June 10 the chain will also be joining with over 100 products in support of households and businesses.

Dragiya Dragiev from Minimart said that the increase in food prices is one of the most important topics in recent months. The products with reduced prices will be available at the beginning of next week, he added.

Nikolay Kanev from Fantastico said that the chain will include at least 50 basic commodities that can be purchased from Monday.