Quality description of EU Price Monitoring statistics
Compiler: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) since 1 January 2015. The Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Tike previously compiled the reports.
Basis of compilation: The compilation of EU price monitoring reports is based on the Act on the Natural Resources Institute Finland (561/2014), the Act on the Organisation of Markets in Agricultural Products (999/2012), the Government Decree on Notifications relating to the Reporting of Prices for Certain Products (88/2013) and the Decree of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on Notifications relating to the Reporting of Prices for Certain Products (90/2013). Provisions on reporting of prices to the DG AGRI are given in the following product-specific Commission Regulations: Beef, pig meat and sheep meat as well as sold-on piglets (EC) No 1249/2008, broiler meat and eggs (EC) No 546/2003, milk products (EC) No 479/2010, cereals (EC) No 1272/2009, bananas (EC) No 1288/2011 as well as fruit and vegetables (EC) No 543/2011.
Funding: The compilation of price monitoring reports is funded from the funds of the Natural Resources Institute Finland.
1. Relevance of data
1.1. Content and purpose of use
The Commission gathers information weekly on the market prices of the most important agricultural products from the Member States. Information is mainly gathered for administrative purposes to support decision-making in agricultural policy (common organisation of the markets in agricultural products). The most active users of the data are the European Commission, national agricultural administrations and companies and organisations operating in the food sector. The data gathered does not constitute statistics.
The price monitoring for pork describes the average price for pig carcasses in certain SEUROP quality classes and the price paid by the slaughterhouse to piglet producers for a 20-kilo sold-on piglet. The price monitoring for beef describes the average price for beef carcasses by class of animals (bull, heifer, cow) in certain EUROP quality and fat classes.
The price monitoring for grain describes the weekly market prices for basic grain at which industry and companies exporting grain trade in grain. The price quotation is locality-specific and describes the factory’s purchase price paid by industry using grain (mills, feed manufacturers, malthouses) or the price when sold for export.
The weekly price monitoring for milk products gathers information on the prices and quantities in kilograms for certain milk products. The information is reported on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on the product.
The weekly price monitoring for broiler meat gathers information from slaughter plants slaughtering broiler chickens. The weekly price monitoring for eggs gathers information from those packing stations for eggs that sell more than one million kilos of (fresh, whole) eggs in class A per year.
The price monitoring for fruit and vegetables gathers information on the sales prices and quantities of certain fruits and vegetables imported from third countries. A report is prepared on the basis of this information daily and sent to the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) of the Commission and to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. On the basis of the information provided by the Member States, the Commission fixes standard import values relating to the import arrangements for fruit and vegetables each working day.
The price monitoring also gathers information on the sales prices and quantities of bananas imported from third countries. This information is not used for the import statistics, but a separate report on bananas is prepared weekly.
1.2. Definitions and classifications
The price of beef and pork refers to the average price (EUR/100 kg) paid by the slaughterhouse to the farmer when the slaughterhouse is responsible for the transport of the animals from the farm to the slaughterhouse. As a rule, the prices of meat include all items and bonuses paid to the producer. The prices do not include value added tax or any aid paid to the farmer through the slaughterhouse.
Transportation costs refer to the estimated average costs arising from the transport of the animals for slaughter from the farm to the slaughterhouse.
The price of lamb refers to the price given in the statistics on producer prices of agricultural products.
Price quotation refers to the price at which grain of basic quality would be traded in at a particular moment of time. The quotation does not describe the actual price paid. Factory’s purchase price refers to the price of grain free on vehicle at the gate of the receiving enterprise, i.e. the factory’s purchase price for domestic grain. Price when sold for export refers to the price of grain free on vehicle at the harbour.
The price of broiler meat refers to the selling price (EUR/100 kg) for whole (fresh or frozen) broiler chickens at the slaughter plant, excluding freight.
The price of eggs refers to the selling price in packing stations for eggs in class A of categories M and L from hens in enriched cages. Packaging sizes are not separated from each other, but the price is the average price for all eggs sold in Finland.
The price of fruit and vegetables refers to the weighted average of all sales on the Finnish market at the wholesaler/retailer stage of certain fresh fruit and vegetables imported from third countries. This also includes all products cleared through the customs within the EU the country of origin of which is a third country.
1.3. Research subject and informants
The Natural Resources Institute Finland is responsible for the price monitoring of agricultural products required by the organised marketing system. The information is needed for the common organisation of the markets in the EU. The EU Regulations require that the Member States report the prices of agricultural products to the Commission daily or weekly, depending on the product. The Regulations prescribe by product which operators are required to report prices. In Finland, the information is mainly gathered from the largest enterprises purchasing products from farmers. The information on fruit and vegetables imported to Finland from third countries is collected from the largest wholesalers.
1.4. Taking into account the perspective of the users
The content of EU price monitoring is determined by the Regulations, but any feedback received can be taken into account in the distribution of the information.
2. Accuracy and reliability of data
The Regulations on price monitoring provide for the comprehensiveness of the information. In Finland, the reporting for most products is clearly more comprehensive than that meeting the minimum requirements.
2.1. Research method
For slaughterhouses, the information is collected weekly using a questionnaire. In the price monitoring for pork, all those slaughterhouses that slaughter more than 80,000 pigs per year are required to provide information, and in the price monitoring for beef, all those slaughterhouses that slaughter more than 20,000 adult bovine animals per year. The slaughterhouses submit the information for the previous week by the following Tuesday. They report the number and quantity in kilograms of carcasses as well as the average price per 100 kg in the questionnaire. The information gathered also includes the average transportation costs from the farm to the slaughterhouse.
The weekly price monitoring for broiler meat gathers information from slaughter plants slaughtering broiler chickens in Finland. The weekly price monitoring for eggs gathers information from those packing stations for eggs that sell more than one million kilos of (fresh, whole) eggs in class A per year. The schedule for data collection for poultry meat products is the same as that for price monitoring for pork and beef.
The weekly price monitoring for milk products gathers information on the prices and quantities in kilograms for certain milk products (raw milk, cheeses, butter and milk powder).
The price quotations for grain (EUR/1,000 kg) are collected from the most important end-users in terms of the quantity of grain used (mills, feed manufacturers, malthouses) and from enterprises exporting grain. The price for the current week is quoted on Thursday. The factory’s purchase prices paid by industry are collected from the websites of the enterprises, and the prices when sold for export are gathered from enterprises exporting grain using a questionnaire. Information is gathered on six cereals: bread wheat, rye, malting barley, feed wheat, feed oats and feed barley. The quotations are locality-specific and determined on the basis of the location of the industrial plants and export harbours. As data collection must be representative, information is gathered from 17 localities in different parts of Finland.
The information on fruit and vegetables is collected daily from three wholesalers and two enterprises specialising in the import of fruit and vegetables.
- Timeliness and promptness of published data
The information for the previous week is published weekly immediately after data collection and reporting to the Commission have been completed. Thanks to the speedy reporting schedule, the published data can be regarded as very up-to-date. The reports on prices in EU countries are a week older than the reports on prices in Finland. The weekly prices of milk products are not published for reasons of data protection.
- Coherence and comparability of data
The prices reported for different products are collected at different stages of the food chain. The coherence of time series depends on the product.
The time series for beef and pork price monitoring are comparable since the beginning of price monitoring, i.e. 1995.
There are interruptions in the publications of price monitoring reports for eggs for reasons of data protection.
The price quotations for grain are only comparable insofar as the combinations of cereals and localities have remained the same. However, there have been changes both in cereals and localities over the years.
- Availability and accessibility of data
EU price monitoring data is available on pork, beef and broiler meat, eggs and quotations for grain. Information on eggs is not available for the entire period of price monitoring for reasons of data protection. The Information on fruit and vegetables and bananas is not published. The information on milk products is not published for reasons of data protection.