Due to strict rules from major food manufacturers and suppliers, Dutch supermarkets are currently unable to make large-scale purchases abroad when products are available at lower prices there. Supermarkets are ‘compulsorily’ directed to order from the Dutch branch of the respective manufacturer.
DIY stores also suffer from this. Previous research showed that entrepreneurs face such restrictions on 1 in 25 purchased goods. These lead to prices being 10 percent higher. Customers across Europe could save 14 billion euros annually if all procurement restrictions were lifted.
The eight countries, led by the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Micky Adriaansens (together with Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Croatia, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic), believe the EU should address these unnecessary price differences.
Procurement discrimination is formally prohibited, but under the Competition Act, action can currently only be taken after the fact. Moreover, the burden of proof is difficult. The free movement of goods is one of the fundamental pillars of free trade between EU countries. Supermarkets can only circumvent this by ‘relabeling’ foreign stickers and sticking labels in their own language over them.
“Removing trade barriers must be a top priority for the internal market. This helps keep consumer prices fair for food and non-food products. Something especially important during times of high consumer prices,” said Minister of Economic Affairs Micky Adriaansens.
The concerns newly raised by the Netherlands are not new. In 2019, Brussels imposed a fine of 200 million euros on the world’s largest beer brewer, AB InBev, for obstructing the cheaper import of beer to Belgium from the Netherlands.