Is the Netherlands really that expensive?

A few weeks ago it was reported on De Nieuwkoper that, if done smartly, it is worthwhile to refuel in Germany and immediately take the cheaper food and drugstore items with you.
What about our southern neighbors?

To start with, the distance: about 125 kilometers for a single trip, so you can easily spend a total of thirty-five euros on petrol. Refueling in Belgium is cheaper than in the Netherlands, but it doesn’t really make a big difference.
Then the shopping: research comparing the Dutch and Belgian Albert Heijn shows that people might as well stay in Nieuwkoop for everyday shopping.
An example: the AH winter carrot costs 99 cents in Belgium, in the Netherlands they pay 39 cents. The whole wheat pitas are also considerably more expensive in Belgium at 1.98 euros than here where they cost 75 cents.
Finally, a 200 gram bag of radishes retails for 1.99 cents in Belgium, while in the Netherlands it costs 79 cents.
The Belgian price comparison agency Pingprice compared 11,000 products in the Dutch and Belgian Albert Heijn. The conclusion is that 48 percent of groceries in the Netherlands are cheaper than across the border. On the other hand, 30 percent of groceries in Belgium are cheaper, while about 20 percent keeps pace.
According to Pingprice, products that are cheaper in the Netherlands cost on average 16.3 percent less. In most cases this concerns everyday foodstuffs, such as bread, vegetables, pasta and rice. The Netherlands is cheaper

The outcome of the research is at odds with the idea that many Dutch people have, namely that daily groceries are much cheaper in our southern neighbors. According to European research, Dutch food prices average 4 percent below the European average. In Belgium, groceries cost an average of 3% more expensive.
It can be concluded that people living in the municipality of Nieuwkoop would do well to do their daily shopping close to home.

The question remains how did the image of expensive Dutch food come about? Pingprice thinks that the cause can be found in the fact that if something is cheaper in Belgium, it immediately makes a big difference. Take, for example, the Nivea Cellular anti-age day cream, which costs 32.49 in the Netherlands, but only 15.99 in Belgium. Zwitsal products are also no less than 45.5 percent cheaper in Belgium than here.