A shift in sourcing patterns is furthermore apparent from a detailed study of trade and consumption data. More specifically, this analysis points to a switch from domestic towards EU sourcing. Moreover, we also found evidence that EU consumers substituted non-EU for EU products. Finally, a case study of brands in selected food and beverage products revealed the existence of some pan-European brands. Integrated sourcing patterns are not found in the same way for all product categories and for all countries.
Tastes continue to vary a lot across European countries.
Local sourcing and national brands still matter greatly. The internationalisation of sourcing, retailing and distribution contributes to growing price convergence among EU countries. This is particularly true for the product categories that experienced the strongest internationalisation of sourcing patterns. Furthermore, we found the strongest price convergence over time for the EU12 country group, suggesting that EU membership enhances market integration. A positive EU effect was also supported by the fact that the founding six countries of the Community show substantially lower price differentials than the subsamples of EU members that included a wider set of EU countries.