New analysis published by Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA) Marketing has revealed that the volume of fresh food sold in the country fell by 2 per cent last year, although the overall value of those sales increased to €4bn during the same period as a result of price rises.
Sales of fresh fruit and vegetables in particular, however, were reportedly dampened by the E coli crisis in neighbouring Germany, resulting in a 5.2 per cent decrease to just below €890m.
Despite the price inflation, there was also a notable tailing off in the growth of discount retail sales on the Austrian market.
'The growth of discount stores seen in previous years was slowed down by retail private labels,' commented AMA's head of market research Micaela Schantl. 'With private labels at all price points, consumers have been able to avoid going to discounters.'
