Rosen Karadimov: 400% increase in signals to the CPC, the commission is not a control body.
CPC Chairman Rosen Karadimov reported a 400% increase in signals to the commission over the past year, emphasizing that the CPC is a regulatory, not a control body, and revealing a severe contraction in livestock farming and markups of up to 100% for cheese.
The chairman of the Commission for Protection of Competition, Rosen Karadimov, told BNT that the CPC had recorded a 400% increase in reports over the past year.
Karadimov emphasized that the CPC is not a control body but a regulatory authority whose role is to analyse processes in depth and propose solutions with an effect on entire sectors of the economy. According to him, the Commission must examine the substance of these processes and, on that basis, propose political and management solutions.
Karadimov explained that the CPC had uncovered serious structural problems, including a severe contraction in livestock farming, with entire branches facing decline. He said livestock herds in agriculture had fallen by 66% over four years. The decline among breeding ewes is 66%, among breeding goats more than 50%, while cattle numbers have also fallen significantly.
In its sectoral food analysis, the Commission found that the markup on cheese can reach up to 100% compared with the price at which the producer supplies it to the retail chain.
He added that two proceedings had been launched against two retail chains over unfair commercial practices toward producers. According to him, some of the reports do not even fall within the CPC’s powers, but the leadership still takes them seriously and responds, which he said shows a degree of trust.