Food price monitoring
Food prices are monitored in 36 countries, of which 27 are EU Member States, three are EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) and six are EU candidate countries. Eurostat collects and publishes the data. Even though differences in food prices between the monitored countries have decreased during the last decade regarding food and non-alcoholic beverages, food prices continue to show very significant variation between countries.
In Finland, average food prices are higher than the European average, with the price level index (PLI) being 110 in the comparison of prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages in 2023. The PLI for alcohol-containing beverages was 202.3, being highest in the EU Member States. For tobacco, the PLI was 153.9 in 2023.
Data collection
Description of the indicator
Food price monitoring takes into account the prices of the most common food products and non-alcoholic beverages. Price levels can also be examined by including prices for alcohol and tobacco.
The PLI is also calculated for food prices in each country to compare food prices with the European average (PLI=100). If the value is more than 100, food prices are higher than the European average. Correspondingly, if the value is less than 100, food prices are below the average.
The indicator will next be updated in summer 2025.
