Rabobank warns: supermarket prices will rise further in the coming months | Economy

Due to rising sales prices at Dutch producers, Rabobank believes that there will be no end to price increases in supermarkets for the time being. “Just like last year, it seems to be heated price negotiations these winter months,” says Rabobank researcher Sebastiaan Schreijen.

Producers indicate that they have to increase their sales prices by 10 to 20 percent to cover all costs. The cause of this increase is, among other things, the expensive dollar and rising personnel costs. Indirect energy costs also play a role.

Packaging material such as glass and cardboard, but also semi-finished products such as flour and salt are made with a lot of energy. These products are purchased by producers on a contract basis, so that the higher energy costs are still passed on to the food producers.

Even more expensive

“Consumers have already had to deal with price increase after price increase in the past year,” says Schreijen. “But judging by the consumer price developments in the supermarket, not all cost increases have been covered by a long shot. Let alone that the consumer is aware of the intended producer price increases that are coming in the coming months.”

Rabobank expects buyers at supermarkets to ‘give considerable resistance to the negotiating table’ in the near future. Schreijen thinks that the supply in the supermarkets will be reduced as a result, for example due to empty shelves as a result of deliveries being stopped. “But despite this austerity, groceries will become (even) more expensive in the first months of 2023.”

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