At the start of this year, fuel prices in Belgium are at their lowest level since the peak prices of 2022. The official maximum prices for fuel have become a lot cheaper than they were a year ago.
The fact that prices at the pump in Belgium are so low has not gone unnoticed by our Dutch neighbours either. Gas stations in the border region are being flooded with Dutch people who come to fill up quickly and cheaply.
Some analyses estimate that 10 to 20% of the fuel sold just across the border in Belgium is purchased by Dutch people. In peak years with significant price differences (such as now), that share rises to 30-50% locally.
Compared to early 2025, the maximum price for diesel has fallen in Belgium by 5% (to €1.678 per liter). The same applies to gasoline, which makes a substantial difference of €5 per 50-liter tank.
Compared with a year earlier, the maximum price for heating oil (for deliveries of at least 2,000 liters) has fallen by more than 15 percent to €0.723 per liter. For 2,000 liters, you now pay a maximum of €1,446 – €267 less than in 2025.
The decline in crude oil prices is mainly due to oversupply, despite geopolitical conflicts overshadowing the market. According to the International Energy Agency, last year, more than 2 million barrels of crude oil were overproduced daily, causing crude oil prices to fall. Analysts do not expect the situation to change immediately.
‘Fuel tourism’
The ‘fuel tourism’ from the Netherlands is noticeable, and it is no longer just people who live in the border region; sometimes it is people who live dozens of kilometers away. Fueling up in Belgium? You’d be crazy not to, they say. “A difference of forty cents per liter – you can’t pass that up.”
The situation is therefore becoming increasingly difficult for Dutch gas station owners. According to Martin van Eijk, chairman of the gas station operator trade association Drive Nederland, the border has now become structurally skewed.
It’s not just the fuel that’s killing them; the shop and the car wash are also taking a hit, because every Dutch customer who fills up in Belgium will also pay for a sandwich, a coffee, or a car wash there.
In dire straits
“We were already at a difference of more than 30 cents per liter of fuel with Belgium. This new excise duty increase only makes matters worse. Dutch gas station operators can no longer compete with this.”
“Many entrepreneurs are in dire straits,” observes Van Eijk of Drive Nederland. “Some Dutch gas station owners have even crossed the border and started or acquired a gas station in Belgium. Purely to keep their businesses afloat.”
Automatic index
Why is there such a significant difference with the Netherlands? The Netherlands is the only EU country that automatically indexes fuel taxes. “That’s how we create this huge difference ourselves,” concludes Van Eijk. “And unfortunately, a higher excise tax doesn’t generate more revenue, because the money doesn’t come in; it disappears across the border.”
