Bulgaria had the biggest drop among all European Union countries in the volume of retail trade in July 2020 compared with July 2019, EU statistics agency Eurostat said on September 3.
The July 2020 drop in the volume of retail trade in Bulgaria was 17.5 per cent lower than in July 2019, Eurostat said.
On an annual basis, retail trade in Bulgaria was 5.5 per cent higher in February 2020 than it had been in the same month of 2019.
In March, the month that Bulgaria declared a State of Emergency because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the volume of retail trade dropped 14.6 per cent on an annual basis.
Again on an annual basis, in April 2020 the decrease was 19.9 per cent, in May it was 20.4 per cent, and in June it was 18.1 per cent.
Among other EU countries, the next-highest drop in retail trade in July 2020 was in Malta, by 8.1 per cent, and Luxembourg, by 6.1 per cent.
The EU countries where there were the highest increases in retail trade in July on an annual basis were Ireland, 9.1 per cent, Lithuania 6.8 per cent and the Netherlands, six per cent.
Eurostat said that across the EU, the retail trade volume in July 2020 increased by 1.5 per cent for non-food products and by 1.1 per cent for food, drinks and tobacco while automotive fuels decreased by 9.6 per cent.
