Customers welcome food VAT cut but distrust stores

On April 1, VAT on foodstuffs drops from 12 to 6 percent, welcomed by customers in Falun. Many remain skeptical about sustained price reductions. Grocery stores are intensively relabeling thousands of price tags ahead of the change.

The government is reducing VAT on foodstuffs from 12 to 6 percent on April 1 to press down food prices. In September 2025, it established a food price commission to monitor prices, which presented its first report at the end of February and plans another in September.

In Falun, store manager Peter Jansson at Citygross is working to change 12,566 price labels. "We have a job ahead of us to change 12,566 labels," he says. The change coincides with Easter week, a high-shopping period. "It's Easter week now, so it was a poorly chosen time if I may say so myself," Jansson adds.

Customers interviewed by SVT Dalarna in Falun welcome the reduction but are suspicious of the stores. Alexandra Diaz, about to shop in a store that lowered prices in advance, says: "I'm going to go into the store now and check the prices."

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