© 2013, 2024 by Zack Smith. All rights reserved.
Introduction
During a visit to the Netherlands in late 2013, I bought my food at supermarkets, mostly at the Albert Heijn chain, and I kept my receipts.
That chain now posts their product prices online, so I can make a quick comparison between prices then and now.
This comparison is not perfect for determining the food inflation rate.
- Some products sold then are no longer sold at Albert Heijn.
- Some products sold then are no longer sold in the same volume or weight.
- My receipts lacked important details, like brand name.
- I recorded a very limited set of items.
Still, this can provide a very rough price comparison.
2013 food prices & comparison to 2024 prices
My receipts are now long gone, but I recorded the prices onto my computer. The product descriptions on the receipts were, as is typical, a bit too concise, but they were still useful.
Items that I bought:
| Food Item | 2013 Price € | 2024 Price € | Inflation | Product Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 800 ml Groentesoep (vegetable soup) | 1.89 | 3.59 | 1.89X | AlbertHeijn |
| 450g maaltijd (prepared meal) of bami goreng i.e. pasta and ham | 3.5 | 3.49 for 1kg package | ½ | AlbertHeijn |
| 1kg Albert Heijn muesli | 1.67 | 2.79 | 1.67X | AlbertHeijn |
| 800 ml Kippensoep (chicken soup) | 1.98 | 2.99 | 1.51X | AlbertHeijn |
| Pickwick English tea | 1.00 | 2.29 | 2.3X | AlbertHeijn |
| Generic chocolate bar | 1.00 | 1.89 | 1.89X | AlbertHeijn |
| ? ml Tomaat Groentesoep (tomato-vegetable soup) | 1.00, unknown ml | 3.89 for 800 ml | ? | AlbertHeijn |
| Antacid | 3.00 | 3.79 | 1.26X | AlbertHeijn |
Items I didn't buy:
A couple items I recorded out of curiosity:
| Food Item | 2013 Price € | 2024 Price € | Inflation | Product Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1kg spaghetti | 1.89 | 1.89 for 2-for-1 500g package | 1 | AlbertHeijn |
| 490g spaghetti sauce | 1.79 | 2.55 for 520g jar | 1.34X | AlbertHeijn |
Overall food inflation rate
If a person were living entirely on the products above and nothing else, periodically filling their basket with one of each, including the pasta and tomato soup, the total cost in 2013 would have been 18.72 €. The total in 2024 for all of the above would be 29.16 €, which is 55.7% more.
However the above selection of foods is not realistic.
- It leaves out common items like bread, milk and meat.
- Some items last longer than others and would not need to be replenished as frequently as other items.
Comparisons to USA 2013 prices
The spaghetti was 1.89 € per 1 kg. That comes to US $1.23 per pound, which in 2013 was 23% more expensive than in the USA where the price wsa about $1 per pound.
The muesli was a good deal. It was good quality and, at 1.67 € for 1 kg, that was only about $1.10 per pound. In the USA, the price of good muesli was usually 3 to 4 times that.
Transportation
While this page is primarily about food prices, I also recorded my very limited use of public transportation.
The only transportation that I paid for was the train from Schiphol airport to Amsterdam and back: this cost me 4.40 € each way.
In 2024, according to the train system website, the one-way ticket from Schiphol to Amsterdam is 4.90 €, which is 1.11X more than 11 years earlier.