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The Ministry of Agriculture initiates a notification for the advance giving of 50 percent of the Ukrainian aid.

This was commented to journalists in the village of Ustina by the Minister of Agriculture Yavor Gechev.

It will be sent to Brussels at the beginning of next week.

The reason for requesting these funds earlier is that they are not part of the budget and we can help livestock breeders and farmers with spring processing with fresh money, Gechev pointed out. 

According to the minister, there is partial speculation in the prices of dairy products.

Fresh milk cannot reach such prices, Gechev commented on the protest of milk producers in Haskovo and asked how the purchase price of milk is 85-90 cents, but in the store it is over BGN 3.50.

At least they should be in solidarity along the chain and the producers themselves should receive normal prices, said the minister.

He announced that from today the quantities and quality of milk entering the country will be checked.

Imports from Ukraine are increasing, and Bulgaria was the first to raise the issue in the EU that the countries that are closer to it actually pay a higher price, commented Gechev.

According to him, the ministry is preparing an ordinance on traceability in the entire chain for the sake of food hygiene and quality. 

With experts from the Ministry of Economy, a study was conducted among the leading countries in the European Union on how they deal with the rise in prices.

According to Gechev, imposing a price ceiling is not a successful model.

Experts are translating two French bills that say the price at the producer is non-negotiable, and upstream there are marginal processing and marketing prices.

Bulgaria is very far from these models in terms of cooperative structures and regulation, noted Gechev.

According to him, an opportunity is being sought for quick legislation through ordinances and decrees of the Council of Ministers.

The reason is that there is a Food Act that regulates labeling and quality, but no specific legislation regarding trade.

In the moments of crisis, it turned out that the Bulgarian market is severely unstructured,

without sufficient regulation and prices are breaking out in an abnormal way, the minister pointed out.

According to him, all sectors have reacted, except for one - food and especially dairy products.

"There is an anomaly here and it distorts the economy, because people spend more than 40 percent of their income on food. Thus, the pressure on people's wages and purchasing power is very high," said Gechev.

The minister participated together with President Rumen Radev in the ritual of cutting down the vines in the village of Ustina.

The first attempt to gather all branch organizations in agriculture at one table ended in failure