P.M. BRIEFING : Decontrol Ups Bulgarian Prices
Bulgarians awoke today to new economic hardships, with prices skyrocketing as the government lifted Marxist-style controls in a first drastic step to create a free market and drag the nation out of its worst financial crisis.
The price decontrol affected the prices of food, transportation and other basic services, although the coalition government of Prime Minister Dimitar Popov decided to continue regulating the prices of heating fuel, gasoline, electricity and natural gas.
The effects of the measure, however, were only evident in so-called free markets, as most store shelves have been bare for months. Food that is stocked has been rationed, and shoppers have had to wait in line for hours to make purchases.
In a free market in Sofia, the price of a liter of milk rose from 10 cents to 70 cents, the cost of a kilo of bread from 12 cents to 35 cents.
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