Austria's accession to the EU has intensified competition at all levels of production and distribution. These effects were not noticeable in agriculture. At the beginning of 1995 Austria adopted the EU's Common Agricultural Policy and liberalized agriculture and the food industry; as a result food prices fell considerably. For manufactured goods, however, the integration effects on prices were more drawn out. The price-reducing effects of the EU can be estimated at about 0.6 percentage point for 1995, and at about ½ percentage point for the first half of 1996.