Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
1.2. Contact organisation unit
C4: Price statistics. Purchasing power parities. Housing statistics
1.3. Contact name
Restricted from publication
1.4. Contact person function
Restricted from publication
1.5. Contact mail address
2920 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG
1.6. Contact email address
Restricted from publication
1.7. Contact phone number
Restricted from publication
1.8. Contact fax number
Restricted from publication
2.1. Metadata last certified
13 June 2024
2.2. Metadata last posted
13 June 2024
2.3. Metadata last update
13 June 2024
3.1. Data description
The Food Price Monitoring Tool intends to analyse the available data on price developments through the supply chain. The supply chain is a series of economic activities that are performed by different economic actors that contribute to the production and distribution of one consumer product or a group of consumer products.
The Food Price Monitoring Tool monitors 26 supply chains. It compares the price indices of four stages of the supply chain:
Retail sector: the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP)
Domestic food industry: the domestic producer price index (PPId)
Imported products: the import price index based on unit values from international trade in goods statistics
Agricultural commodities: the agricultural commodity prices index (ACP)
3.2. Classification system
HICP/Consumer Prices:
ECOICOP: European Classification of Individual Consumption according to Purpose. The prices used in the HICP should be the prices paid by households to purchase individual goods and services in monetary transactions. The purchaser's price is the price actually paid at the time of purchase.
Domestic Producer Price Indices
NACE-Rev.2: Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community. 'Domestic Producer prices' are SNA/ESA basic prices that means excluding invoiced VAT and excluding all other taxes on products and including subsidies on products.
Import Prices
SITC: Standard International Trade Classification. For more information on Import Prices, please refer to Source Data on item 18.1.
Agricultural commodities
The general structure of the output and input indices, i.e. the list of groups, subgroups, classes, subclasses and categories for which partial indices should be calculated, is shown in Annex I of the 'Handbook for EU agricultural price statistics'. For more information on Agricultural Commodity Prices, please refer to Source Data on item 18.1.
3.3. Coverage - sector
A limited set of supply chains in the food sector is identified (see table under item 3.4).
Data for each supply chain includes data for up to one agricultural commodities (ACP), one NACE-group for domestic producer prices (PPI), one ECOICOP-group of consumer products (HICP) and one import price (IPI) that are considered to be in the same supply chain.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
limited number of supply chains are designed for the purpose of the Food Price monitoring Tool, and may be extended in the future.
The published data is as follows:
Monthly data:
Indices (2015=100)
Annual rates of change
The chains and the related groups are summarised in the following table:
TABLE 1: Product chains and related statistics
COICOP label
Consumer prices (COICOP)
Domestic Producer prices (NACE-Rev.2)
Commodity prices (Agricultural Commodity)
Import prices (SITC)
Food
CP011 Food
C10 Manufacture of food products
140000 Agricultural goods
0 Food and live animals
Bread and cereals
CP0111 Bread and cereals
C106 Manufacture of grain mill products, starches and starch product
010000 Cereals (including seeds)
04 Cereals and cereal preparations
Bread
CP01113 Bread
C1071 Manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes
011000 Wheat and spelt
041 Wheat (including spelt) and meslin, unmilled
Meat
CP0112 Meat
C101 Processing and preserving of meat and production of meat products
110000 Animals
01 Meat and meat preparations
Beef and veal
CP01121 Beef and veal
-
111000 Cattle
011 Meat of bovine animals, fresh, chilled or frozen
Pork
CP01122 Pork
-
112000 Pigs
012.2 Meat of swine, fresh, chilled or frozen
Lamb and goat
CP01123 Lamb and goats
-
114000 Sheep and goats
012.1 Meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen
Poultry
CP01124 Poultry
C1012 Processing and preserving of poultry meat
115100 Chickens
012.3 Meat and edible offal of the poultry of subgroup 001.4, fresh, chilled or frozen
Fish and seafood
CP0113 Fish and seafood
C102 Processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and molluscs
-
03 Fish (not mar. mammals), crustaceans, molluscs and prep. thereof
Milk, cheese and eggs
CP0114 Milk, cheese and eggs
C1051 Operation of dairies and cheese making
120000 Animal products
02 Dairy products and birds' eggs
Fresh whole milk
CP01141 Fresh whole milk
-
121000 Milk
022.1 Milk (including skimmed milk) and cream, not concentrated or sweetened
Yoghurt
CP01144 Yoghurt
-
121000 Milk
022.3 Yogurt; buttermilk, curdled, fermented or acidified milk and cream; ice-cream
Cheese and curd
CP01145 Cheese and curd
-
121000 Milk
024 Cheese and curd
Eggs
CP01147 Eggs
-
122000 Eggs
025 Eggs, birds', and egg yolks, fresh, dried or otherwise preserved, sweetened or not; egg albumin
Oils and fats
CP0115 Oils and fats
C104 Manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats
021000 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits (including seeds)
42 Fixed vegetable fats and oils, crude, refined or fractionated
Butter
CP01151 Butter
-
121100 Cows' milk
023 Butter and other fats and oils derived from milk
Olive oil
CP01153 Olive oil
-
080000 Olive oil
421.4 Olive oil and other oil obtained from olives
Other edible oils
CP01154 Other edible oils
C1041 Manufacture of oils and fats
021000 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruit (including seeds)
421 Fixed vegetable fats and oils, ‘soft’, crude, refined or fractionated
Fruit
CP0116 Fruits
-
060000 Fruits
057 Fruits and nuts (not including oil nuts), fresh or dried
Vegetables
CP0117 Vegetables
-
041000 Fresh vegetables
054 Vegetables, fresh, chilled, frozen or simply preserved (roots, tubers and other edible vegetable products, n.e.s., fresh or dried)
Potatoes
CP01174 Potatoes
-
051000 Potatoes for consumption
054.1 Potatoes, fresh or chilled (not including sweet potatoes)
Sugar
CP01181 Sugar
C1081 Manufacture of sugar
024000 Sugar beet
0612 Other beet or cane sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form
Coffee, tea and cocoa
CP0121 Coffee, tea and cocoa
C1083 Processing of tea and coffee
-
07 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, and manufactures thereof
Fruit and vegetable juices
CP01223 Fruit and vegetable juices
C1032 Manufacture of fruit and vegetable juice
061000 Fresh fruit
059 Fruit juices (including grape must) and vegetable juices, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter
Wine from grapes
CP02121 Wine from grapes
C1102 Manufacture of wine from grape
070000 Wine
112.1 Wine of fresh grapes (including fortified wine; grape must in fermentation or with fermentation arrested
Beer
CP0213 Beer
C1105 Manufacture of beer
013200 Malting Barley
112.3 Beer made from malt (including ale, stout and porter
A limited number of supply chains were designed, which may be extended in the future. The chains and the related groups are summarised in the table under item 3.4.
3.7. Reference area
European Union (EU), euro area (EA), European Economic Area (EU, Iceland and Norway), Switzerland, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.
The aggregates are, when available, the European Union and the euro area.
3.8. Coverage - Time
From 2005 onward. The base statistics may be available for a longer period.
3.9. Base period
All indices used have a common base year (2015=100).
All prices are expressed as indices and percentage changes (%).
Month, except some agricultural commodity price series. See 18.1 for additional information concerning agricultural commodity prices.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
There is no institutional mandate. The development of the monitoring tool follows from proposals put forward in the Commission Communication of December 2008 on 'Food prices in Europe' COM(2008) 821 final.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
None.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
According to policy rules (see item 7.1).
8.1. Release calendar
The four stages of the supply chain are released differently, depending on the availability of new data.
Consumer and Domestic producer prices are updated monthly, at the same time the original datasets are updated.
Import and agricultural prices are updated twice per year. There is no release calendar for those two stages of the food supply chain.
In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice Eurostat disseminates European statistics on Eurostat's website (see item 10 - 'Accessibility and clarity') respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The detailed arrangements are governed by the Eurostat protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.
This metadata, together with the metadata pages of each indicator, is the most complete information available, regarding the food price monitoring tool.
The quality assurance depends on each stage of the food supply chain:
• Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP): Eurostat undertakes compliance monitoring visits to Member States during which it reviews HICP methodological issues. That way, it ensures that the statistical practices used to compile the national HICP are compliant with the HICP methodological requirements.
• Domestic producer price index (PPI): Quality checks and validation of data are done throughout the whole process: first by the Member States, then by Eurostat in the calculation of European aggregates. The quality is regularly monitored on the basis of usual quality checks in the process of validation of data and national reference metadata
• Import price index (IPI): Member States supply Eurostat with an annual Quality Report in a fixed deadline after the reference year.
• Import price index (IPI): The main strengths are the relevance, the timeliness and punctuality, the accessibility, the clarity and the coherence. Their main weaknesses are the accuracy and the comparability.
The development of the monitoring tool follows from proposals put forward in the Commission Communication of December 2008 on 'Food prices in Europe' (COM(2008) 821 final).
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
There are no specific surveys related to the Food Price Monitoring Tool. It is possible to check the evaluations that assess Eurostat's performance in general: see 'user satisfaction surveys' at 'quality' / 'evaluation'/'general evaluation results' in the website http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/quality/general-evaluation-results.
12.3. Completeness
Only a selection of supply chains is covered.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The accuracy depends on each stage of the food supply chain. Some of its main aspects are the following:
Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP): The accuracy of the source data is monitored by assessing price and weight sources. There are a variety of data sources both for weights (National Accounts data, Household Budget Survey data, etc.) and prices (visits to local retailers and service providers and central collection via mail, telephone, e-mail and the internet are used). The type of survey and the price collection methods ensure sufficient coverage and timeliness. The surveyed outlets are chosen to represent the existing trade and services network
Domestic producer price index (PPI): The accuracy is tackled at national and European levels, by eliminating as much as possible non-sampling errors, by calculating sampling errors and studying and analysing revisions. The available information at country level is summarised in the reports PEEIs in focus (Principal European Economic Indicators or euro indicators) and in national reference metadata.
Import price index (IPI): As intra-EU trade statistics stem from Intrastat declarations by the traders, a main source of error that affects accuracy of intra-EU data is late or non-response. Intra-EU as well as extra-EU trade data accuracy is also affected by specific characteristics of this statistical field, such as the practice of concealing confidential information and the exemption thresholds applied by countries in order to reduce the burden on enterprises.
The sampling error depends on each stage of the food supply chain. Some of its main aspects are the following:
• Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP): It is difficult to quantify the HICP sampling errors, due to the complexity of price index structures and the common use of non-probability sampling. Consequently, no estimate for a global HICP sampling error is available.
• Import price index (IPI): EU trade statistics are not based on samples, thus they are not affected by errors specifically applicable to sample surveys. EU trade statistics are based on the Intrastat system for the intra-EU trade and on the customs clearance system for the extra-EU trade.
The non-sampling error depends on each stage of the food supply chain. Some of its main aspects are the following:
• Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP): The HICP non-sampling errors are not quantified. Eurostat and the NSIs try to reduce non-sampling errors through continuous methodological and survey process improvements, such as computer assisted price collection that can help avoid coding and typing errors.
• Import price index (IPI): The accuracy of the international trade data is affected in different ways by thresholds, non-response, confidentiality practices, as well as by statistical value calculations.
Not applicable since there is no pre-announced schedule.
14.2. Punctuality
Not applicable since there is no pre-announced schedule.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The tool aims to compare different price indices as measured in European Member States. However, even when physically comparable products may have very different market positions across countries national markets. Please see also HICP/PPI/ACP/IPI Metadata.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Generally, the comparability over time is good. In the case of Agricultural Commodity Prices:
In each series, there is normally a variation of the weights of its components from quarter to quarter.
There are breaks in series every five years (2010 and 2015). The degree of impact of that break depends on the country and product.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
The values published are reconcilable with the original data, although in some cases the reference year is different. In the case of Agricultural Commodity Prices the quarterly values are disaggregated into monthly.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The data are normally internally coherent.
The Food Price Monitoring Tool was developed using already existing data with the goal not to increase the burden in the Member States.
17.1. Data revision - policy
The monitoring tool will follow data revisions of the included statistics:
Domestic producer price index (PPI): According to the policy for routine revisions, national data continue to be revised when additional information from national statistical authorities (or from seasonal adjustment carried out by Eurostat) becomes available. European aggregates are revised once per month. If errors are detected in either national data or in European aggregates, they are corrected immediately and an error report is released.
Agricultural Commodity Price Index (ACPI): Member States may revise the time series at the time of providing final information.
Import price index (IPI): Data are revised frequently according to national needs and practices. They become normally final from six months up to more than one year after the first release. Revisions to older data are also possible. Eurostat makes the revisions available in its monthly updates as soon as they were transmitted by the Member States.
The monitoring tool will follow data revisions of the included statistics:
Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP): The HICP data are released even if missing for certain countries or flagged as provisional or of low reliability. The HICP data are released monthly, and they may include some provisional data for the latest month. These are usually confirmed or the final figures are revised the following month.
Domestic producer price index (PPI): Apart from revisions generated by Eurostat's seasonal adjustment of national data, the revisions of EU indices come directly from revisions in national series transmitted to Eurostat on different dates. Since countries have different revision policies, it is common for EU indices to be revised. A distinction can be made between revisions due to errors and those due to the incorporation of new information. For Domestic producer price indices, new information is integrated in the European aggregates on a regular basis (once per month).
Agricultural Commodity Price Index (ACPI): When new data are received from a country, calculations are made to obtain the new set of aggregated indices. Whenever new data are provided and validated (every quarter), the already disseminated data are updated. Data revisions are regularly monitored within the data analysis process.
Import price index (IPI): Metadata reports on revisions to trade in goods data are published monthly measuring the revision both in terms of the value change and the percentage change. Those metadata reports can be found on the Information on data page of the ‘International trade in goods’ section on Eurostat website. Whenever new data are provided and validated, the already disseminated data are updated with each regular production cycle.
Consumer Prices, Producer Prices and Import Prices are collected monthly. Agricultural Commodity Prices are collected quarterly.
18.3. Data collection
The data collection depends on each stage of the food supply chain:
Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP): The price collection methods are chosen by the National Statistics Institutes as far as they ensure sufficient quality, according to the legislative framework underlying the production of the HICP.
Domestic producer price index (PPI): Detailed methodological information on Member States' data collection practices is available in the national reference metadata.
Agricultural Commodity prices (ACPI): they are obtained by Member States from a wide variety of sources, like the following:
Samples to producers which make direct sales
Records of transaction as part of an administrative process
Administered prices
Enquiries to bodies purchasing or selling the agricultural products and/or inputs.
Import price index (IPI): Member States supply Eurostat with an annual Quality Report in a fixed deadline after the reference year.
The domestic producer price index, is a business-cycle indicator showing the development of transaction prices for the monthly industrial output of economic activities. The domestic producer price index measures the gross monthly change in the trading price of manufactured products.
3. Import prices
Import prices based on unit values are processed at the most detailed level in order to calculate elementary unit-values defined by trade value/quantity. These unit-values are divided by the average unit-value of the previous year to obtain elementary unit-value indices. Elementary unit-value indices are then aggregated over countries and commodities, by using the Laspeyres, Paasche and Fisher formulae. Finally, the Fisher unit-value indices are chained back to the reference year and are used to approximate the import price movements.
4. Agricultural Prices
Agricultural price statistics provide information on the development of producer prices for agricultural products. The indices are based on sales of agricultural products. Prices should be recorded at points which are as close as possible to those of the transactions which the farmer actually undertakes.
The price data source is quarterly. Most agricultural commodity prices are disaggregated into monthly, according to the following criteria:
1) The majority of the original series provide values of all the four quarters of the year. Those series are disaggregated and flagged as 'e=estimated'.
2) A few original series do not provide values for all the four quarters of the year. They are mainly related to seasonal products that are not available all through the year. Those series are not disaggregated. They are flagged as 'd=definition differs, see metadata'.
The series are disaggregated by Ecotrim. It is a program developed by Eurostat that supplies a set of mathematical and statistical techniques to carry out temporal disaggregation of time series. When the series are disaggregated, the quarterly average of the monthly indices is set equal to the quarterly indices.
Ecotrim offers the possibility to use a benchmark. The exponential of the disaggregated values of the logarithm of the original series are used as a benchmark (disaggregation setting the geometrical quarterly average of the monthly indices equal to the quarterly indices). The use of this benchmark affects slightly most of the series but it is required in order to avoid that negative index values appear when disaggregating a few hugely volatile series.
18.6. Adjustment
Data are not seasonally adjusted.
General notes:
1. The food supply chain
The prices paid for the outputs in each step of the supply chain reflect the values of the inputs, including the payment for labour and other production factors, and the profit margins made by the player.
The supply chain may be relatively short and simple for some food products or more complex for others. It may also differ across countries. Prices of each input in the supply chain may change over time. These changed prices for inputs may be passed through to the next player in the chain and change the prices of intermediate products or they may affect the profit margin of the players involved.
2. Limitations of the monitoring tool
The tool concentrates on the comparison of the agricultural product prices through the supply chain. It should be acknowledged that for many products the value added to the final product from labour, energy and transport may be higher than the cost of the basic level agricultural inputs. Food products that are sold to consumers after a short and uncomplicated production process may react more directly to changes in commodity prices than food products that have undergone a lengthy and costly production process, where the basic agricultural commodity forms a small part of the total cost.
ext_go_agg_esms - International trade in goods - aggregated and detailed data
apri_pi_esms - Price indices of agricultural products
sts_esms - Short-term business statistics
The Food Price Monitoring Tool intends to analyse the available data on price developments through the supply chain. The supply chain is a series of economic activities that are performed by different economic actors that contribute to the production and distribution of one consumer product or a group of consumer products.
The Food Price Monitoring Tool monitors 26 supply chains. It compares the price indices of four stages of the supply chain:
Retail sector: the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP)
Domestic food industry: the domestic producer price index (PPId)
Imported products: the import price index based on unit values from international trade in goods statistics
Agricultural commodities: the agricultural commodity prices index (ACP)
13 June 2024
limited number of supply chains are designed for the purpose of the Food Price monitoring Tool, and may be extended in the future.
The published data is as follows:
Monthly data:
Indices (2015=100)
Annual rates of change
The chains and the related groups are summarised in the following table:
TABLE 1: Product chains and related statistics
COICOP label
Consumer prices (COICOP)
Domestic Producer prices (NACE-Rev.2)
Commodity prices (Agricultural Commodity)
Import prices (SITC)
Food
CP011 Food
C10 Manufacture of food products
140000 Agricultural goods
0 Food and live animals
Bread and cereals
CP0111 Bread and cereals
C106 Manufacture of grain mill products, starches and starch product
010000 Cereals (including seeds)
04 Cereals and cereal preparations
Bread
CP01113 Bread
C1071 Manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes
011000 Wheat and spelt
041 Wheat (including spelt) and meslin, unmilled
Meat
CP0112 Meat
C101 Processing and preserving of meat and production of meat products
110000 Animals
01 Meat and meat preparations
Beef and veal
CP01121 Beef and veal
-
111000 Cattle
011 Meat of bovine animals, fresh, chilled or frozen
Pork
CP01122 Pork
-
112000 Pigs
012.2 Meat of swine, fresh, chilled or frozen
Lamb and goat
CP01123 Lamb and goats
-
114000 Sheep and goats
012.1 Meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen
Poultry
CP01124 Poultry
C1012 Processing and preserving of poultry meat
115100 Chickens
012.3 Meat and edible offal of the poultry of subgroup 001.4, fresh, chilled or frozen
Fish and seafood
CP0113 Fish and seafood
C102 Processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and molluscs
-
03 Fish (not mar. mammals), crustaceans, molluscs and prep. thereof
Milk, cheese and eggs
CP0114 Milk, cheese and eggs
C1051 Operation of dairies and cheese making
120000 Animal products
02 Dairy products and birds' eggs
Fresh whole milk
CP01141 Fresh whole milk
-
121000 Milk
022.1 Milk (including skimmed milk) and cream, not concentrated or sweetened
Yoghurt
CP01144 Yoghurt
-
121000 Milk
022.3 Yogurt; buttermilk, curdled, fermented or acidified milk and cream; ice-cream
Cheese and curd
CP01145 Cheese and curd
-
121000 Milk
024 Cheese and curd
Eggs
CP01147 Eggs
-
122000 Eggs
025 Eggs, birds', and egg yolks, fresh, dried or otherwise preserved, sweetened or not; egg albumin
Oils and fats
CP0115 Oils and fats
C104 Manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats
021000 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits (including seeds)
42 Fixed vegetable fats and oils, crude, refined or fractionated
Butter
CP01151 Butter
-
121100 Cows' milk
023 Butter and other fats and oils derived from milk
Olive oil
CP01153 Olive oil
-
080000 Olive oil
421.4 Olive oil and other oil obtained from olives
Other edible oils
CP01154 Other edible oils
C1041 Manufacture of oils and fats
021000 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruit (including seeds)
421 Fixed vegetable fats and oils, ‘soft’, crude, refined or fractionated
Fruit
CP0116 Fruits
-
060000 Fruits
057 Fruits and nuts (not including oil nuts), fresh or dried
Vegetables
CP0117 Vegetables
-
041000 Fresh vegetables
054 Vegetables, fresh, chilled, frozen or simply preserved (roots, tubers and other edible vegetable products, n.e.s., fresh or dried)
Potatoes
CP01174 Potatoes
-
051000 Potatoes for consumption
054.1 Potatoes, fresh or chilled (not including sweet potatoes)
Sugar
CP01181 Sugar
C1081 Manufacture of sugar
024000 Sugar beet
0612 Other beet or cane sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form
Coffee, tea and cocoa
CP0121 Coffee, tea and cocoa
C1083 Processing of tea and coffee
-
07 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, and manufactures thereof
Fruit and vegetable juices
CP01223 Fruit and vegetable juices
C1032 Manufacture of fruit and vegetable juice
061000 Fresh fruit
059 Fruit juices (including grape must) and vegetable juices, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter
Wine from grapes
CP02121 Wine from grapes
C1102 Manufacture of wine from grape
070000 Wine
112.1 Wine of fresh grapes (including fortified wine; grape must in fermentation or with fermentation arrested
Beer
CP0213 Beer
C1105 Manufacture of beer
013200 Malting Barley
112.3 Beer made from malt (including ale, stout and porter
A limited number of supply chains were designed, which may be extended in the future. The chains and the related groups are summarised in the table under item 3.4.
European Union (EU), euro area (EA), European Economic Area (EU, Iceland and Norway), Switzerland, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.
The aggregates are, when available, the European Union and the euro area.
Month, except some agricultural commodity price series. See 18.1 for additional information concerning agricultural commodity prices.
The accuracy depends on each stage of the food supply chain. Some of its main aspects are the following:
Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP): The accuracy of the source data is monitored by assessing price and weight sources. There are a variety of data sources both for weights (National Accounts data, Household Budget Survey data, etc.) and prices (visits to local retailers and service providers and central collection via mail, telephone, e-mail and the internet are used). The type of survey and the price collection methods ensure sufficient coverage and timeliness. The surveyed outlets are chosen to represent the existing trade and services network
Domestic producer price index (PPI): The accuracy is tackled at national and European levels, by eliminating as much as possible non-sampling errors, by calculating sampling errors and studying and analysing revisions. The available information at country level is summarised in the reports PEEIs in focus (Principal European Economic Indicators or euro indicators) and in national reference metadata.
Import price index (IPI): As intra-EU trade statistics stem from Intrastat declarations by the traders, a main source of error that affects accuracy of intra-EU data is late or non-response. Intra-EU as well as extra-EU trade data accuracy is also affected by specific characteristics of this statistical field, such as the practice of concealing confidential information and the exemption thresholds applied by countries in order to reduce the burden on enterprises.
The domestic producer price index, is a business-cycle indicator showing the development of transaction prices for the monthly industrial output of economic activities. The domestic producer price index measures the gross monthly change in the trading price of manufactured products.
3. Import prices
Import prices based on unit values are processed at the most detailed level in order to calculate elementary unit-values defined by trade value/quantity. These unit-values are divided by the average unit-value of the previous year to obtain elementary unit-value indices. Elementary unit-value indices are then aggregated over countries and commodities, by using the Laspeyres, Paasche and Fisher formulae. Finally, the Fisher unit-value indices are chained back to the reference year and are used to approximate the import price movements.
4. Agricultural Prices
Agricultural price statistics provide information on the development of producer prices for agricultural products. The indices are based on sales of agricultural products. Prices should be recorded at points which are as close as possible to those of the transactions which the farmer actually undertakes.
The price data source is quarterly. Most agricultural commodity prices are disaggregated into monthly, according to the following criteria:
1) The majority of the original series provide values of all the four quarters of the year. Those series are disaggregated and flagged as 'e=estimated'.
2) A few original series do not provide values for all the four quarters of the year. They are mainly related to seasonal products that are not available all through the year. Those series are not disaggregated. They are flagged as 'd=definition differs, see metadata'.
The series are disaggregated by Ecotrim. It is a program developed by Eurostat that supplies a set of mathematical and statistical techniques to carry out temporal disaggregation of time series. When the series are disaggregated, the quarterly average of the monthly indices is set equal to the quarterly indices.
Ecotrim offers the possibility to use a benchmark. The exponential of the disaggregated values of the logarithm of the original series are used as a benchmark (disaggregation setting the geometrical quarterly average of the monthly indices equal to the quarterly indices). The use of this benchmark affects slightly most of the series but it is required in order to avoid that negative index values appear when disaggregating a few hugely volatile series.
Not applicable since there is no pre-announced schedule.
The tool aims to compare different price indices as measured in European Member States. However, even when physically comparable products may have very different market positions across countries national markets. Please see also HICP/PPI/ACP/IPI Metadata.
Generally, the comparability over time is good. In the case of Agricultural Commodity Prices:
In each series, there is normally a variation of the weights of its components from quarter to quarter.
There are breaks in series every five years (2010 and 2015). The degree of impact of that break depends on the country and product.
