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Belgium boasts the most expensive supermarkets
Belgium’s supermarket monitoring organisation has released figures showing that among neighbouring countries your grocery bill in Belgium will be the most expensive. The Belgian Observatory undertook the task of comparing the prices of 60,000 food and non-food products to find out how the country ranks within the region. The results show that shopping at Belgium’s supermarkets will cost consumers more than other countries, they will cost a lot more.
The figures show that in 2012 products from Belgian supermarkets cost on average 12 percent more than in the Netherlands, 9 percent more than in Germany, and even 6.5 percent dearer than in France.
The higher prices in Belgium are due to higher wage costs and higher VAT rates than the comparative countries. Also, Belgian supermarkets have less pull when negotiating with suppliers due to the country’s small market.
Comments
Already noticed supermarkets in Belgium are really expensive, but ...
Re the last paragraph: so how come that in the Netherlands, the average supermarkt bill can be 12% cheaper? Is that country bigger than Germany, or France? Are the wages lower?
And what about Luxembourgh? Supermarkets even more expensive than in Belgium I presume - if I am to believe the reasoning stated in this article for expensive supermarkt prices in Belgium?
It would be better to write these articles and INCLUDE A LINK so that those who are interested in the detail can go and check it out for themselves....
Don't buy name brands and your bill will be much cheaper: Delhaize 365 Mashed Tomatoes 500gr. costs 0,31; identical brand names: cost 1,65 to 2,90.
Don't buy name brands and your bill will be much cheaper: Delhaize 365 Mashed Tomatoes 500gr. costs 0,31; identical brand names: cost 1,65 to 2,90.
Like everything else you pay for in Belgium the consumer is being ripped-off
Wages probably account for around 20% of the costs of running a supermarket. Make the cost of labour cheaper and costs of products will be cheaper. Labour reform is badly needed to keep Belgium competitive. The consequences of no or slow reform is becoming clearer every day.