Dutch people overestimate food expenditure

The Dutch overestimate how much money they spend on food. The average Dutchman expects to spend about 24% of the household income on food. This is apparent from representative research among 1560 people commissioned by LTO Nederland. However, figures from Statistics Netherlands show that an average household spends only 8% on food.

Of the 1560 respondents surveyed, 77% said they spent more than 10% of their disposable income on food. Only 18% think they spend between 6% and 10% of income, and only 4% say they spend less than 5% on food. The reality is that an average family spent only 8% on food in 2018 (CBS, 2019).

"Farmers and horticulturists take pride in making good, healthy and affordable food. Consumers, both in the Netherlands and in neighbouring countries, benefit from this. At the same time, society has more and more wishes about the way in which food is produced. We have an eye for that. Farmers and market gardeners invest a lot in sustainability themselves, but too often this is not reflected in the price they get for their products. This research shows that the Dutch do not always realise how cheap food actually is here," says Wim Bens, acting chairman of LTO Nederland.

www.lto.nl