To maintain comparability with the series up to 1987, FAO decided to continue using the SITC, Rev. 2. Efforts have been made to adjust the new classification to the old one. Systems for reporting trade Countries may report data on imports and exports on the basis of either general trade or special trade. The difference is that in general trade goods are recorded when entering or leaving the national territory, while in special trade goods are recorded when cleared through customs for home use or for export. Special imports include goods for domestic consumption and withdrawals from bonded warehouses or free zones for purposes of domestic consumption.
General trade includes total imports and total exports, including reexports.
In addition to that which is reported under special trade it includes imports into and exports from customs warehouses and free zones or ports. In general, export values are f.o.b. and import values are c.i.f. For the calculation of index numbers the import values for these countries were converted into c.i.f. In all commodity tables, totals are shown for continents and the world. They include the total imports or exports of each of the respective countries, regardless of destination or origin.