VRT Radio 2’s consumer affairs programme ‘De Inspecteur’ has calculated that the price we currently are paying for a full trolly of goods at our local supermarket is 16.5% higher than it was a year ago. The trolley of goods taken by ‘De Inspecteur’ in its price comparison is typical of the things that we all buy when we do our weekly shop. Products containing grain, milk or olive oil have increased in price the most. Every three months ‘De Inspecteur’ looks at the price of the same 75 food products.
Home News
Our weekly shopping 16.5% dearer than it was a year ago
Published:
The price rises have been the sharpest at the so-called “discounter” supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl. There prices rose by an average of 19%. Meanwhile, prices at Delhaize at Carrefour have risen by 15% since this time last year, while prices at Albert Heijn and Colruyt are up by 15%. The price of both well-know premium brands and supermarkets’ own brand products were up at all the supermarkets surveyed.
In his weekday radio programme the presenter of ‘De Inspecteur’ Sven Pichal looked at the results of the price survey with the Leuven University (KUL) professor of marketing Els Breugelmans. Professor Breugelmans said that "Even I could not have predicted such a price increase. No one could have predicted such high inflation rates a year ago."
The general inflation rate has since hovered around 10.6% and although "Inflation is slowing down, the inflation figures for food - in contrast to the general inflation figures – continues to rise further."
Delay in passing on price increases
The fact that food prices are still increasing so sharply is because there is always a delay in passing on rising costs on the part of retailer. "For example, the cost price of the milk as an ingredient has risen sharply, but the price of dairy products has often not yet increased to the same extent. It takes a while before the producers can pass on the price increase", Professor Breugelmans said.
This is largely due to the price agreements between the producers and the supermarkets, which always apply for a fixed period. "Manufacturers cannot just raise their prices. If they do so they often have to pay a fine to the retail chain."
However, 2022 was an atypical year in that respect, Proffesor Breugelmans said. "Normally, producers and retailers only sit around the table to negotiate prices once a year; usually in January or February. But this year there have been several rounds of negotiations."
“Not every round of price negotiations results in an agreement. If no agreement is reached a retail chain can decide to temporarily stop selling the product. That is why you sometimes see a that product is 'temporarily unavailable'. This is what we call this a delisting, when a supermarket removes the product from its range for a while.”
In addition to dairy products, products containing grain (due to the war in Ukraine) have also increased in price. Meanwhile, the price of olive oil has also shot up. The price of fruit and vegetables always fluctuates according to the season.
What is also striking is the 37% increase in the price of smoked salmon. This has been caused by rising fuel costs, more expensive feed for the fish and higher wages for those that work for the suppliers.
Rice and pasta too are up in price, as are eggs. However, Professor Bruegelmans says that these are products that had not increased in price for a long time. This coupled with rising fuel costs and wages has the price of seen rice and pasta increase by 50% in just 6 months. In the case of eggs outbreaks of bird flu have served to push up prices.