The difference in price between organic and conventional food in the Netherlands has fallen sharply in the last five years, according to new findings from the Dutch consumers’ association Consumentenbond.
Five years ago, Dutch consumers paid twice as much for organic foods as for non-organic ones. This difference is now much smaller, according to a Consumentenbond’s latest consumer price survey.
The group looked at the prices of 115 organic foods at 13 supermarkets and four organic shops. If dedicated organic stores are excluded, then organic products are on average 63% more expensive than the non-organic variant. If we include the (higher) prices of organic stores, organic products turn out to be 75% more expensive. Five years ago, organic products were on average 100% more expensive than non-organic products across the country.
Differences between supermarkets
Consumentenbond also notes “striking” price differences between individual retail chains. Dirk is the cheapest for organic products, followed by Vomar. The organic stores Natuurwinkel and Odin shown to be are the most expensive.
Cheaper than premium brands
Organic private label products are often cheaper than regular ‘A-brand’ products. For example, organic orange juice from the private label costs €0.40 less than a pack of Appelsientje at Albert Heijn. And organic semi-skimmed milk from Bio+ is € 0.19 cents cheaper at Hoogvliet than the semi-skimmed milk from Campina.