Bulgaria is building its first ever central register of food prices online. Prime minister Rumen Radev announced the plan during question time in parliament. The register will give regulators real data on prices and let them flag unfair trading.

Radev was answering a question from the GERB-SDS group about rising food prices. The government's first bills since taking office propose changes to the laws governing the Consumer Protection Commission and the Competition Protection Commission.

Once the new rules take effect, the two watchdogs will track pricing violations more closely, and fines for unfair trading will rise sharply. Radev said both regulators have already "tightened their ranks".

The government has also talked with big food retailers, who signed up voluntarily to price pledges under the "Basket with Care" scheme. Radev said that is as far as things can go while keeping a free market and still punishing breaches along the pricing chain, but more can always be done on prices.

"The 'Basket with Care' approach needs to be backed up with tougher steps, and we will start putting those in place," Radev said.

He said he has asked the National Statistical Institute for data on food inflation. Figures he cited show food prices rose from January to April, fell from May, then rose again after that.

Among the government's decisions is a 55 million euro scheme for large freight carriers, who affect prices, and for farmers. The most vulnerable people will get 50 euros each, with no forms to fill in. The government is also subsidising public transport and has cut excise duty on LPG.

Radev said many things affect prices, including fuel costs. He said Bulgaria has some of the lowest fuel prices in Europe, behind only Malta and countries supplied through Russia's Druzhba oil pipeline.

Updated (02.10, 12:56): The question came from the We Continue the Change (PP) parliamentary group, not GERB-SDS as earlier reports said, BTA reports. Prime minister Rumen Radev said the government wants to bring the pace of price rises under control, not bring them down, and said he never promised a 15% price cut. That figure, he said, came from pledges retail chains had made on their own.