Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) Section Prices Espace de l'Europe 10 CH-2010 Neuchâtel
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
8 April 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
8 April 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
8 April 2025
3.1. Data description
Import Price Index / Importpreisindex / Indice des prix à l'importation
The main purposes of the producer and import price index are:
as an indicator of the economic cycle,
as a deflator (National Accounts etc.),
to index contracts.
3.2. Classification system
NACE rev. 2.0
3.3. Coverage - sector
Activities covered: The Import Price Index covers most of the activities of NACE rev. 2.0, Sections A to C. The following activities are not covered: Divisions 02, 03, 07, 09, 18, and 33 (for some Divisions not all Groups are covered).
Size classes covered: All size classes are covered.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
List and definition of variables: Actual prices (transaction prices) ex-customs are collected. They exclude VAT, excise and customs duties and discounts/rebates. The prices are recorded at the time the order is placed. The selection of products is done by the reporting units. In particular, the criteria for selecting products includes the level of turnover, market presence of the products during at least two reporting periods, constant quality and sale conditions of the products for a given time.
Planned changes in information collected: None.
Accounting conventions: The time span covered by data corresponds to the reference month. Respondents are asked to provide a price falling within the period from the 1st to the 8th of the month.
3.5. Statistical unit
Reporting unit: Enterprises and major purchasers (including traders).
Observation unit(s): Enterprise.
3.6. Statistical population
The frame for identifying units for the population is the business and enterprise register. For the Import Price Index the population is unknown.
3.7. Reference area
Switzerland
3.8. Coverage - Time
From 1914 (data transmission to Eurostat back to May 1993) with gaps. The Import Price Index without gaps exists since January 1963.
3.9. Base period
December 2020 (for the data delivery to Eurostat, the indices are rebased to the annual base 2021 = 100).
Indices
Month
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Federal Law on Statistics of 9 October 1992; Bundesstatistikgesetz (BStatG) vom 9. Oktober 1992; Loi fédérale du 9 octobre 1992 sur la statistique fédérale (LSF)
Ordinance of 30 June 1993 on the Implementation of Statistical Surveys; Verordnung vom 30. Juni 1993 über die Durchführung von statistischen Erhebungen des Bundes; Ordonnance du 30 juin 1993 concernant l'exécution des relevés statistiques fédéraux
Bilateral agreement with the European Union
European Business Statistics (EBS) Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of 27 November 2019, followed by the Commission Implementing Regulation 2020/1197
Compulsory survey since 1st August 2001. Fines can be given. Planned changes in legal basis, obligation to respond and frame used: None.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Eurostat, OECD, UN, IMF, Swiss National Bank (SNB), State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
The compilation and publication of the data are governed by the Federal Law on Statistics (10/9/92), the Ordinance on the Execution of Statistical Surveys (06/30/93) and the Federal Law on Data Protection (06/19/92).
The Federal Law on Data Protection specifies that the Swiss Federal Statistical Office cannot publish, or otherwise make available to any individual or organisation, statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity.
The Laws and Ordinance are published in German, French and Italian and copies can be obtained, for a fee, from BBL, CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland, Internet: Fedlex Federal law | Fedlex.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Confidential data are suppressed. Confidential data corresponds to two different situations: if there are less than 3 respondents or if answers are not representative enough.
The data are released simultaneously to all interested parties by issuing the press release and the updated Internet Website.
The data are made available for information to the Swiss National Bank and to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs four working days before their release to the public.
Data are transmitted monthly to Eurostat shortly after national publication.
Monthly
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
The data are published in a monthly press release.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
The FSO Website (Producer and Import Prices) publishes apart from the press release, further, more detailed data (monthly indices and annual averages for about 200 commodity groups, indices for the main industrial groupings MIGs, and for the core inflation). For all results no regional breakdown is made.
Relevance, timeliness and punctuality, comparability and coherence keep largely to the international guidelines. For accuracy and reliability see point 13.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
The needs of the main users (Swiss National Bank, public administration, research institutes, trade associations and enterprises, Eurostat and OECD) are mostly fullfilled.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Not available.
12.3. Completeness
See point 3.3
13.1. Accuracy - overall
As the Import Price Index is based on target sampling and not random sampling this question cannot be answered.
13.2. Sampling error
See point 13.1
13.3. Non-sampling error
Response rate: The response rate at the time when the survey is closed is usually around 95%.
Actions to speed up or increase the rate of response: Missing responses are followed up by postal and e-mail reminders and telephone contacts.
14.1. Timeliness
Publication date is usually no later than 16 days after the end of the reference month (M+1). The publication schedule is fixed for a calendar year and the data are final when first released and are not subject to revision.
Questionnaires are sent out around the 25th of the previous month (M-1). The delay for replies after reception represents about 15 days and data collection closes towards the end of the reference month (M).
14.2. Punctuality
Almost always delivered in time.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The same statistical concepts are applied in the entire national territory and no regional breakdown is done.
15.2. Comparability - over time
The only major break happened in 1993 (completely new methodology, nomenclature and extent). Minor breaks occur at every revision of the index (1939, 1963, 1993, 2003, 2010, 2015, 2020).
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Comparisons with industrial import price indices of other countries for a given branch of industry. Comparison with the total or with specific product groups of the National Consumer Price Index.
Price statistics are integrated in the system of National Accounts. Furthermore price indices are used to deflate values of production and turnover.
15.4. Coherence - internal
All statistical outputs within the data set in question are consistent. There is no annual price update, no chain-linking and no seasonal adjustment.
The data collection and publication of the Producer and Import Price Index occupies six persons to fulfill all requirements (national and international). The burden on respondents is hardly to estimate.
17.1. Data revision - policy
Data are final when first released and are not subject to revision.
The same revision policy is applied to STS data released nationally and transmitted to Eurostat.
Major methodological changes and revisions are announced in advance through a press release.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Data are final when first released and are not subject to revision.
18.1. Source data
Type of source: Apart from a statistical survey, a small amount of data is gathered from other sources, for example from foreign trade statistics.
Frame on which the source is based: Register of Enterprises and Establishments (REE)
Sample or census: Collection of data is carried out through a sample.
Criteria for stratification: The stratification is mainly based on relative significance (turnover) and representativeness of the enterprises. But also medium-sized and smaller enterprises should be included in the survey each time. In this case, it is assumed that their prices represent the trend among other medium-sized and small enterprises.
Threshold values and percentages: Approximately 5,000 price quotations of import prices from 1,200 reporting units are collected.
Frequency of updating the sample: The sample is updated regularly.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Data are collected monthly, quarterly or half-yearly depending on the short-time pattern of price fluctuations of the different product groups. The indices are compiled monthly.
18.3. Data collection
Questionnaires used in the survey: On the one hand a standard postal questionnaire (containing previous month's data) is used pre-printed with a list of products for which prices are to be given, on the other hand respondents have the opportunity to answer online by means of an eSurvey.
Planned changes in national questionnaires: None.
Data collection media: Postal or online survey, more rarely by email.
Planned changes in data collection methodology: None.
18.4. Data validation
Checking of responses and a first set of plausibility tests (where reporting units are asked to provide reasons for large variations [usually more than 15%]) are followed by a second set of plausibility tests (incl. analyzing item indices to ensure that changes are consistent with information about market conditions).
18.5. Data compilation
Estimates for non-response: Non-response is negligible. If no price can be obtained in most cases the last known price is carried forward. For significant products an estimation is made by using the price development of similar products or of the aggregate of the commodity group.
Estimates for grossing-up to population levels: There is no grossing-up.
Type of index: Direct Young price index. Small quality changes are not taken into account, while prices are adjusted for substantial quality change, wherever quality difference can be quantified; otherwise products are considered as totally new and linked into the index. When a product becomes unavailable it is replaced by another with similar quality characteristics and sale conditions if possible. New products are regularly selected by the reporting units and linked into the index.
Method of weighting and chaining: For the Import Price Index the source of weights is the foreign trade statistics. The reference period for the current index weights is 2017/18.
Planned changes in production methods: None.
18.6. Adjustment
No working day or seasonal adjustment is made. Prices quoted in currencies other than the national one are converted into the national currency using the exchange rate at the first working day of the reference month.
There are no differences in the practices used for compiling national indices and those used for compiling the indices transmitted to Eurostat.
None
Import Price Index / Importpreisindex / Indice des prix à l'importation
The main purposes of the producer and import price index are:
as an indicator of the economic cycle,
as a deflator (National Accounts etc.),
to index contracts.
8 April 2025
List and definition of variables: Actual prices (transaction prices) ex-customs are collected. They exclude VAT, excise and customs duties and discounts/rebates. The prices are recorded at the time the order is placed. The selection of products is done by the reporting units. In particular, the criteria for selecting products includes the level of turnover, market presence of the products during at least two reporting periods, constant quality and sale conditions of the products for a given time.
Planned changes in information collected: None.
Accounting conventions: The time span covered by data corresponds to the reference month. Respondents are asked to provide a price falling within the period from the 1st to the 8th of the month.
Reporting unit: Enterprises and major purchasers (including traders).
Observation unit(s): Enterprise.
The frame for identifying units for the population is the business and enterprise register. For the Import Price Index the population is unknown.
Switzerland
Month
As the Import Price Index is based on target sampling and not random sampling this question cannot be answered.
Indices
Estimates for non-response: Non-response is negligible. If no price can be obtained in most cases the last known price is carried forward. For significant products an estimation is made by using the price development of similar products or of the aggregate of the commodity group.
Estimates for grossing-up to population levels: There is no grossing-up.
Type of index: Direct Young price index. Small quality changes are not taken into account, while prices are adjusted for substantial quality change, wherever quality difference can be quantified; otherwise products are considered as totally new and linked into the index. When a product becomes unavailable it is replaced by another with similar quality characteristics and sale conditions if possible. New products are regularly selected by the reporting units and linked into the index.
Method of weighting and chaining: For the Import Price Index the source of weights is the foreign trade statistics. The reference period for the current index weights is 2017/18.
Planned changes in production methods: None.
Type of source: Apart from a statistical survey, a small amount of data is gathered from other sources, for example from foreign trade statistics.
Frame on which the source is based: Register of Enterprises and Establishments (REE)
Sample or census: Collection of data is carried out through a sample.
Criteria for stratification: The stratification is mainly based on relative significance (turnover) and representativeness of the enterprises. But also medium-sized and smaller enterprises should be included in the survey each time. In this case, it is assumed that their prices represent the trend among other medium-sized and small enterprises.
Threshold values and percentages: Approximately 5,000 price quotations of import prices from 1,200 reporting units are collected.
Frequency of updating the sample: The sample is updated regularly.
Monthly
Publication date is usually no later than 16 days after the end of the reference month (M+1). The publication schedule is fixed for a calendar year and the data are final when first released and are not subject to revision.
Questionnaires are sent out around the 25th of the previous month (M-1). The delay for replies after reception represents about 15 days and data collection closes towards the end of the reference month (M).
The same statistical concepts are applied in the entire national territory and no regional breakdown is done.
The only major break happened in 1993 (completely new methodology, nomenclature and extent). Minor breaks occur at every revision of the index (1939, 1963, 1993, 2003, 2010, 2015, 2020).
