Milk- and Dairy Alternatives

As Plant Milk Tax Affects Sales, Aldi and Lidl Shrink Price Gap with Dairy in Netherlands

At Aldi and Lidl, you now pay almost as much for a litre of plant milk as for a litre of cow’s milk. This is the result of a price analysis by Wakker Dier for the Netherlands. “Many consumers choose a product based on price. Aldi and Lidl are therefore helping their customers to make a better choice,” says Collin Molenaar from Wakker Dier.

At the beginning of this year, the price of plant-based milk rose due to the introduction of the oat milk tax. Wakker Dier sounded the alarm when sales of plant-based milk plummeted by seven percent. In May, a litre of cow’s milk was on average 91 cents cheaper than plant-based milk. Now the difference is smaller at 76 cents.

At DekaMarkt, the price difference between a litre of cow’s milk and plant-based milk is the greatest at 1 euro. Plant-based milk is also significantly more expensive at Dirk (94 cents), Hoogvliet (98 cents), and Plus (96 cents).

Molenaar comments: “This makes the choice in favour of plant-based products less attractive. These supermarkets need to make more of an effort.”

Plant-Based Milks
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We don’t need the politicians, retailers can set prices

Wakker Dier analysed the development of average prices per litre for long-life and fresh milk from the supermarket chains Albert Heijn, Aldi, DekaMarkt, Dirk, Hoogvliet, Jumbo, Lidl, Plus, and Vomar. The animal welfare organisation compared cow’s milk (skimmed, semi-skimmed, full-fat) and plant milk (soya, oat, rice and almond milk).

The government policy gives cow’s milk a major competitive advantage over plant-based alternatives. The cost price of cow’s milk is kept artificially low by agricultural subsidies. Plant-based milk is even more expensive due to a consumption tax of 26 cents per litre.

“Fortunately, we don’t need politicians to change this. The supermarkets themselves decide how to set the price for their milk,” says Molenaar.

Further information: wakkerdier.nl

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