Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Supermarket products in Belgium are becoming more expensive at a slower rate, but prices are still rising, consumer organization Testaankoop reports. The organization called on the government to investigate whether "inflation of greed" was at play.
Testaankoop reports that inflation in Belgian supermarkets continues to fall. The organization calculated inflation based on the prices of more than 3,000 products. With price inflation now at 15.4 percent, there is a significant improvement compared to the beginning of 2023, when the organization recorded inflation peaking at more than 20 percent.
"Since then, this inflation has decreased, so supermarket products are becoming more expensive at a slower rate," TestaAncoop said. But the organization notes that prices are still rising.
"We expect fair prices"
Given the decline in commodity and energy prices on the international market for several months, the organization raises questions about the constant price increases in supermarkets. Transportation costs fell by an average of 17 percent between June this year and last year.

Ortwin Huysmans, spokesperson for Testaankoop, said: "Once again this July, we have to conclude that consumers are not noticing lower international prices in the supermarket." "We expect fair prices from the food industry that reflect international price cuts."
Testaankoop reiterated its call for further investigation into the possible existence of "greedy inflation" in supermarkets. The term is used to describe the practice of companies raising prices in order to disproportionately increase their profits. In the context of high inflation caused by higher energy prices, price increases in supermarkets and other stores are now widely accepted by consumers. This has created the opportunity for companies to raise prices beyond the level justified by their higher costs.
'No widespread evidence'
A family of two spent an average of 531 euros at the supermarket in July, Testaankoop calculates. This is 1 euro more than in June, but 71 euros more than a year ago. Vegetables are, on average, now 33 percent more expensive. Global grain prices have declined since October 2022 (-17 percent). However, 28 out of the 36 pasta products that Testaankoop included in its comparison have become more expensive since October.
The National Bank of Belgium, in turn, reported in late June that a recent study "did not reveal widespread evidence that the price increases seen in 2022 were driven by an opportunistic rise in profit margins".