2023-12-06 18:22:18
The price differences mainly concern drinks. An example: a one and a half liter bottle of water of a given brand in a French supermarket costs 61 cents. The same bottle in the same supermarket chain back home costs 93 cents, a third more.
Three reasons explain this difference. First of all, because Belgium has a contribution of 10c/L on packaging. In other words, a tax on bottles, which does not exist in France. Another point, VAT is slightly higher here. And then, in the case of soda bottles, excise duties are higher in Belgium due to the soda tax.
The problem, explains Carole Dembour, economist at Fevia, is that once Belgians are in France for drinks, they stay there. “These drinks are truly a loss leader in supermarkets abroad. So in fact, the Belgian consumer crosses the border to fill his trunk with drinks and then takes the opportunity to buy other products.” And Carole Dembour estimates that an amount of 700 to 750 million euros will be spent by Belgians abroad in 2023.
Note that other products, such as fruits and vegetables in particular, are less expensive in Belgium. But this is not enough to reverse the trend.
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