Liaquat Ali
Islamabad: Bulgaria ranked among the European Union’s strongest-performing economies for retail sales growth in May 2026, recording a 7.9% year-on-year increase, according to the ldata released by Eurostat this week.
The figures placed Bulgaria second among EU member states, behind only Cyprus, which registered an annual increase of 8.4%, while Luxembourg followed closely with 7.8% growth.
Across the European Union, the calendar-adjusted retail sales index rose by 1.9% in May compared with the same month last year, while the euro area recorded an annual increase of 1.6%.
Eurostat data showed that sales of food, beverages and tobacco increased by 1.9% across the EU and by 2.4% in the euro area. Sales of non-food products, excluding automotive fuel, rose 2.8% in the EU and 2.3% in the euro area. Meanwhile, automotive fuel sales declined by 2.9% across the bloc and 4.6% within the euro area.
Among member states, the weakest annual performances were recorded in Romania, where retail sales fell 4.0%, followed by Estonia (-0.5%) and Belgium (-0.4%).
On a monthly basis, Bulgaria also recorded positive momentum, with retail trade volume increasing 0.8% in May compared with April 2026, exceeding the EU average monthly growth of 0.5% and the euro area’s 0.2% increase.
Across the EU, monthly sales of food, beverages and tobacco rose 0.6%, while non-food products, excluding automotive fuel, increased 0.5%. Sales of automotive fuel declined 0.4% during the month.
The strongest month-on-month retail sales growth was registered in Cyprus (3.7%), Luxembourg (3.6%) and Poland (2.4%). The sharpest monthly declines were recorded in Estonia (-2.2%), Croatia (-2.0%), and Belgium and Lithuania (both -0.7%).
