High inflation rate pushes more Belgians to go cross-border shopping in France

More and more Belgians are shopping across the border in France, as they are able to save up to 30% on certain products, as Belgium's inflation lies higher than many of its neighbouring countries.

Belgium's inflation rate rose to 4.4% in January, according to statistics based on the European harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP).

While Belgium's inflation has increased, it has gone down in neighbouring countries, such as Germany, France and the Netherlands, the Federal Public Service (FPS) Finance of Belgium reported.

One shopper spoke to press agency EBU and said they were able to buy a month's worth of food for almost 300 euro, "I'll never make it in Belgium."

“At the moment, olive oil is cheaper than back home. Fish is cheaper and fresher. What kills me is that Belgian products are cheaper here than back home,” they added.

Another shopper said they come almost every week. "Drinks are cheaper here. Fruits are cheaper too. In Belgium, strawberries cost 8 euros, here it's 4 euros”, she explained.

A popular shopping destination is the Roncq shopping center, some 15 kilometres from the French city of Lille and just 4 kilometres from the border. Shoppers say that they are able to save a significant amount of money, despite the additional costs for petrol to get there.

On average, Belgians save almost 30 euro in France on a shopping basket of 100 euro.