Food price monitoring and observatories: an exploration of costs and effects; Summary and Executive Summary

The Ministry of Economic Affairs asked what the costs and effects of a food price observatory and more intensive price monitoring would be for the Netherlands. In the first instance, price observatories such as those which exist in Spain and France were considered. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in these countries with individuals involved in the observatories, but also with chain parties, in order to catalogue costs and effects. The Belgian Prices Observatory, the European 'Food Prices Monitoring Tool' and the price monitoring in Germany were examined in more general terms using the literature, the internet and presentations to the 'High Level Forum for a better functioning Food Supply Chain'. In order to be able to compare properly, Dutch price monitoring was also described. In a literature study, it was ascertained on the basis of economic theory what transparency means for pricing and which new approaches - in addition to the more 'standard analyses' - are used to study price transmission.