BRUSSELS – Many basic consumer goods are seriously overpriced in Belgium, one of the country’s leading consumer watchdogs said on Wednesday.

According to ‘Test-Achats’ magazine, cash-conscious shoppers would do well to cross the frontier into a neighbouring European country to stock up on a whole range of everyday items.

The magazine made the comments after studying the prices of 346 different consumer goods in 55 cities in ten different European countries.

“Belgium is never the cheapest country,” Test-Achats said in a statement.

“Quite the contrary. In none of the sectors analysed did Belgium have the lowest prices,” it added.

In eight out of 20 categories, a Belgian city emerged as the most expensive in Europe said Test-Achats, and when it came to the overall ranking of Europe’s most expensive cities, the country fared even worse.

Nine out of the top ten most expensive towns were Belgian.

When it comes to hi-fi or video equipment for example, Belgian shoppers pay around 25 to 35 percent more than their German counterparts, Test Achats found.

Such large differences made the prospect of a cross-border shopping excursion particularly attractive argued the magazine.

[Copyright Expatica News 2004]

Subject: Belgian news