The price of domestic tomatoes in Bulgaria registered one of the sharpest increases last week, about 13.3%.
At the moment, Bulgarian greenhouse tomatoes are nearly 70 percent more expensive than the imported. Despite the closure of the border with Greece, imported tomatoes still currently dominate the market.
From the point of view of the consumer, it is difficult to distinguish domestic and imported tomatoes in terms of quality, although rates of less than 1 Lev per kilo (0.51 Euro) are generally a sign that they were imported (illegally).
Furthermore, it remains difficult to control this, as it is tough to "catch" all rogue traders, since the goods are spread among dozens of small sellers. Sanctions to those caught range between 500 and 5,000 Lev (255 to 2,556 Euro).
The lack of cooperation between domestic vegetable growers is also perceived as a reason for the higher domestic prices.
