The Price Radar provides insight into food price developments across different stages of the supply chain (for example, producer, wholesale, and consumer levels). It draws on product prices, various national price indices—such as the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)—and consumption categories within the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for selected countries. This enables the visualisation and analysis of food price trends over specific time periods and across countries.
Statistics Austria has collected food price data based on retail scanner data since 2022, with corresponding data available in the Price Radar from January 2023 onwards.
At the individual product level, prices are presented as a price band, illustrating the distribution of price data (Quartiles, i.e. 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles). In addition, detailed data from national price indices are displayed where there is a conceptual link to the product. These may include aggregates that encompass the respective item.
Within the “Product Groups“ section, aggregates from national indices are compared. Starting from the COICOP aggregate, the most appropriate aggregates from other classifications (CPA, ÖNACE) have been selected. The lower section compares HICP sub-indices across EU countries.
The Price Radar uses the following indices as data sources
- Consumer Prices Index (CPI) (base year 2020; values may be revised retrospectively by one month)
- Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) (base year 2015; values may be revised retrospectively)
- Wholesale Price Index (WPI) (base year 2020; values may be revised retrospectively by one month)
- Industrial Producer Price Index (IPPI) (base year 2021; values may be revised retrospectively by one month)
- Import Price Index (IMPI) (base year 2021; collected quarterly; values may be revised retrospectively by one quarter)
- Agricultural Price Index (API) (base year 2020; collected quarterly; values are finalised in August of the following calendar year)
Important Notice: Methodological Change
Due to the transition from ECOICOP Version 1 to ECOICOP Version 2, aggregates and HICP sub-indices will change from February 2026.
Scanner Data / Electronic Point-of-Sale Data
Food price indices have been calculated using scanner data since 2022. These data comprise weekly turnover and sales volumes provided by major retail chains to Statistics Austria. All common discount promotions applied at checkout are included, such as “Buy One Get One Free“, percentage discounts, and voucher schemes.
Based on scanner data, both price indices and average prices are calculated. Changes in average prices between two points in time and movements in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for the corresponding items do not necessarily align. This divergence arises from differences in data sources, methodology, and weighting. The product range used for average price calculations may differ from that used for index compilation. Missing package-size information in scanner data does not affect index calculation but leads to the exclusion of the affected products from average price calculations.
For index calculation, only products with recorded sales in at least two months of the previous period are considered. No such criterion applies to average price calculations. Multilateral indices based on scanner data incorporate turnover and regional weights, whereas average prices are weighted by quantities sold.