Vidin food prices exceed Sofia costs due to low competition

Essential food items in Vidin are being sold at higher prices than in Sofia, despite Vidin having a significantly lower average gross salary. In Vidin, the average gross salary is just over 1,000 euros, compared to approximately 1,915 euros in the capital.

Price discrepancies are evident even within the same commercial retail chains. For example, chilled chicken costs 4.60 euros in Vidin versus 3.57 euros in Sofia, and mixed minced meat is 5.59 euros in Vidin compared to 4.34 euros in Sofia. A comparison of a basket containing cheese, yellow cheese, yogurt, and apples shows a total cost of 13.35 euros in Vidin, while the same items cost 12.41 euros in Sofia.

Experts attribute these regional differences to market competition. While Sofia hosts 244 large retail chain stores, cities like Vidin, Vratsa, and Blagoevgrad have only four each. Adrian Nikolov from the Institute for Market Economy suggests that higher store density creates competitive pressure that forces retailers to lower prices and offer more frequent promotions, whereas market concentration in smaller regions can lead to higher costs.