Dutch supermarkets warn groceries could be up to 10% more expensive next year, with the government’s own policies partly to blame.
The CBL, the umbrella organisation for Dutch supermarkets, has written to the cabinet with a stark warning: grocery prices could climb significantly by 2027.
What’s pushing prices up?
According to the CBL, it’s a mix of international and domestic pressures. The ongoing conflict in West Asia is driving up energy, logistics, packaging, and raw material costs across the entire supply chain.
But the CBL is also pointing the finger at Dutch government policy.
It argues that measures including the proposed sugar tax, the incoming truck toll (vrachtwagenheffing), energy levies, and increases to the minimum and youth minimum wage all raise costs without delivering any benefit to shoppers.
The trade body is “emphatically” calling on the cabinet to scrap the planned measures.
Food manufacturers are also worried
The Dutch Food Industry Federation (FNLI) backs up the warning. It expects prices to rise due to sharply higher transport and energy expenditure.
The FNLI warns that the sugar tax, a planned excise duty increase on alcohol, and a new packaging levy would all pile on top of existing costs, such as consumption taxes on non-alcoholic drinks.
Businesses facing that stack of charges will almost certainly pass them on at the checkout.
@dutchreview They’re almost never on sale!
♬ original sound – rider1920
When will shoppers feel it?
Because supermarkets sit at the end of the supply chain, price rises don’t always land immediately.
The CBL notes that, depending on the product, increases can take four to twelve months to filter through to the shelf.
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That lag means decisions made in The Hague today could be hitting your trolley well into next year.
Will a potential 10% grocery price hike change how or where you shop? Let us know in the comments.
