The study looked at the prices of what the trade calls A-products (generally internationally known brands that allow comparisons across borders) and B-products (own-brand products manufactured on licence for the supermarket).

The price differences measured ignored two important factors: money-off offers were not taken into account, whereas coupons are extremely popular here; and the price difference between A and B products was not considered, although the gap in Flanders is larger than elsewhere.

Among the reasons for the difference are the structure of the Dutch market, which is monolingual and dominated by one major player; and the Dutch labour force, which for supermarkets includes a great many young people working part-time at less cost to employers.

The situation in Flanders could be about to change, with the announcement, also last week, that the Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn, by far the market leader north of the border, is to open eight new stores in Flanders, to join the two already in Antwerp province. Like those stores, the new branches will be franchise operations, one of them in central Antwerp.

The new stores are expected to provide 500 jobs and attract about 250,000 customers a week. Albert Heijn has been responsible in recent years for a savage price war with its competitors, which forced prices down in the Netherlands. With the news of an increased push into Flanders, the main players here – Carrefour, Delhaize and Colruyt – will now be arming themselves for a similar struggle.