In its annual report, the Federal Economy Department’s Price Observatory says that although the general inflation rate was down last year, the rate at which food prices increased rose to new heights during 2023. The fall in the general rate of inflation in Belgium can be entirely attributed to a big fall in the price of energy.
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Food prices rising more sharply in Belgium than in neighbouring countries
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The price of food is rising more quickly in Belgium than is the case in neighbouring countries. Last year there was a 12.7% increase in food prices. Never before was food inflation so high.
The food inflation rate peaked at 16.9% during the first quarter of 2023. This fell from the second quarter onwards and during the fourth quarter of 2023 it stood at 8.3%.
Food inflation reached historically high levels in neighbouring countries too. Nevertheless, it was still considerably lower than here in Belgium. Last year food prices increased by 11.3% in The Netherlands and 11.7% in Germany.
The price of services also rose more sharply (6.3%) in Belgium than in neighbouring countries. Here the increase can largely be attributed to price rises at restaurants, in housing and in medical services.
General inflation down
General inflation in Belgium finished the year at 2.3%. This is much lower than in Germany (6%), The Netherlands (4.1%) and France (5.7%).
The differences are almost entirely due to the evolution of energy prices in the various countries. Last year energy prices in Belgium fell by an average of 28.4%.