Dairy Products Prices Seen Going Up by 10% in 2017
Dairy products are by 10% more expensive this year compared to the prices in 2016, the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Markets said on 16th of October...
Dairy products are by 10% more expensive this year compared to the prices in 2016, the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Markets said on 16th of October. In the BNT's morning show, the chairman of the Commission, Vladimir Ivanov, said that largest increase was reported for the prices of butter but the prices of cheeses and yellow cheeses have gone up as well. According to experts, the main reason for this is the shortage of milk and the increase of its price in Bulgaria and on the European markets. Milk is the main source for making butter. In addition, the demand for milk is continuously increasing as it is the main ingredient to make chocolate.
Prices of cheese and dairy products have gone up by 9-10% compared to 2016 levels. Yogurt prices have increased by 3-5%.
Because of the more expensive dairy products, many people, especially in the villages, make their own cheese, butter and cottage cheese. It takes long but the products are delicious and of very good quality. Residents of the village of Tserovo, Blagoevgrad region, say 8 litres of milk are needed to prepare 1kg of cheese and 11 litres of milk to prepare 1 kg of yellow cheese. It is a lot, but it’s worth all the effort, they comment.
What are the estimated prices of dairy products by the end of the year?
Prof. Bozhidar Ivanov, Center for Economic Studies in Agriculture says that usually prices in the winter go up and the same will happen again. The feeding of animals in the winter is different and the production of milk drops. So prices cannot be reduced.
According to him, the retail prices of butter are likely to remain unchanged as they have already reached the ceiling. However, according to farmers’ forecasts, prices of dairy products will continue to rise by the end of the year, as raw milk prices will not fall.
According to the Commodity Exchange and Market Commission, price are expected to raise, but not significantly - up to 10% maximum, which in nominal terms will mean pennies. Only the price of yellow cheese may go up more because of the increasing demand for a goof quality products. It may possibly reach 13 to 15 BGN per kg.
