Statistics on the trading of goods : user guide.
Date: 2006-10-30
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: carriage of goods, extra-EU trade, international trade, intra-EU trade, statistical method, trade statistics, user guide

ISSN 1725-0153

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Statistics on the
trading of goods –
User guide

E U R O P E A N
C O M M I S S I O N

THEME
External trade

 
 
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Luxembourg: Office for  Official Publications of the European Communities, 2006

ISBN 92-79-01577-X
ISSN 1725-0153

© European Communities, 20 60

TABLE OF CONTENT 

1 

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 

1.1 

1.2 

1.3 

Purpose of the user guide ..................................................................................... 1 

Use of international trade statistics....................................................................... 1 

Links with balance of payments and national accounts ....................................... 2 

1.4 

Institutional framework ........................................................................................ 2 
1.4.1  General ......................................................................................................................................2 
1.4.2  National authorities ...................................................................................................................3 
1.4.3  Community authorities ..............................................................................................................3 

1.5 

Legal background ................................................................................................. 3 
1.5.1  General ......................................................................................................................................3 
Intra-European Union trade.......................................................................................................4 
1.5.2 
1.5.3 
Extra-European Union trade......................................................................................................5 
1.5.4  Other Community legislation ....................................................................................................5 
1.5.5 
International recommendations and provisions .........................................................................5 
1.5.6  National legislation....................................................................................................................6 

2  METHODS.............................................................................................................. 6 

2.1 

General ................................................................................................................. 6 

2.2 

Trade systems ....................................................................................................... 6 
2.2.1  General trade and special trade..................................................................................................6 
Intra-European Union trade.......................................................................................................7 
2.2.2 
Extra-European Union trade......................................................................................................8 
2.2.3 

2.3 

2.4 

2.5 

2.6 

Coverage............................................................................................................... 9 

Exclusions........................................................................................................... 10 

Specific movements............................................................................................ 10 

Statistical territory .............................................................................................. 11 

2.7 

Nomenclatures and classifications...................................................................... 11 
2.7.1  General ....................................................................................................................................11 
2.7.2 
Product classifications.............................................................................................................11 
2.7.3  Combined Nomenclature.........................................................................................................11 
TARIC.....................................................................................................................................12 
2.7.4 
2.7.5 
Standard International Trade Classification ............................................................................12 
2.7.6  Other product classifications ...................................................................................................13 
2.7.7  Classification by activity .........................................................................................................13 
2.7.8  Nomenclature of countries and territories ...............................................................................13 

2.8 

Reference period................................................................................................. 14 

2.9 

Statistical thresholds........................................................................................... 14 
2.9.1  General ....................................................................................................................................14 
Intra-EU trade thresholds ........................................................................................................14 
2.9.2 
Extra-EU trade threshold.........................................................................................................15 
2.9.3 

2.10  Statistical data..................................................................................................... 15 
Intra-EU trade data .............................................................................................................15 
Extra-EU trade data ............................................................................................................16 

2.10.1 
2.10.2 

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2.11  Statistical procedure ........................................................................................... 16 
General ...............................................................................................................................16 
Normal imports and exports ...............................................................................................16 
Inward processing trade......................................................................................................16 
Outward processing trade ...................................................................................................17 

2.11.1 
2.11.2 
2.11.3 
2.11.4 

2.12  Partner country ................................................................................................... 17 

2.13  Valuation ............................................................................................................ 18 

2.14  Quantity measurement........................................................................................ 18 
Net mass .............................................................................................................................18 
Supplementary units ...........................................................................................................18 

2.14.1 
2.14.2 

2.15  Transport data ..................................................................................................... 18 
Mode of transport ...............................................................................................................18 
Nationality of means of transport .......................................................................................19 
Containerisation..................................................................................................................19 

2.15.1 
2.15.2 
2.15.3 

2.16  Confidentiality (methodology) ........................................................................... 19 
Confidential data.................................................................................................................19 
Passive confidentiality........................................................................................................20 
Active confidentiality .........................................................................................................20 
Product confidentiality .......................................................................................................20 
Country confidentiality.......................................................................................................20 

2.16.1 
2.16.2 
2.16.3 
2.16.4 
2.16.5 

2.17  Statistical discrepancies and asymmetries.......................................................... 20 
Asymmetries and "mirror" statistics ...................................................................................20 
Intra-EU statistical discrepancies .......................................................................................21 
Extra-EU statistical discrepancies ......................................................................................23 

2.17.1 
2.17.2 
2.17.3 

2.18  Methodological differences ................................................................................ 23 
Differences between Community and national figures.......................................................23 
Differences between Community figures and other international sources .........................24 

2.18.1 
2.18.2 

3  DATA COLLECTION......................................................................................... 25 

3.1 

3.2 

3.3 

3.4 

General ............................................................................................................... 25 

Data sources........................................................................................................ 25 

Register of Providers of Statistical Information (PSIs) ...................................... 26 

Data transmission ............................................................................................... 26 

4  DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS ........................................................... 26 

4.1 

Quality control.................................................................................................... 26 

4.2 

Adjustments ........................................................................................................ 27 
4.2.1  General ....................................................................................................................................27 
4.2.2  Adjustment of values...............................................................................................................28 
4.2.3  Adjustment of quantities .........................................................................................................28 
4.2.4  Adjustments to a balance of payments basis ...........................................................................28 

4.3 

Revisions ............................................................................................................ 29 

4.4 

Confidentiality (processing) ............................................................................... 29 
4.4.1  Confidential data .....................................................................................................................29 
4.4.2  Country confidentiality............................................................................................................30 
Product confidentiality ............................................................................................................30 
4.4.3 

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4.5 

4.6 

Treatment of discontinuities ............................................................................... 31 

Currency conversion (of aggregates).................................................................. 32 

4.7 

Analyses ............................................................................................................. 32 
4.7.1  Unit value and volume indices ................................................................................................32 
4.7.2 
Price indices ............................................................................................................................34 
4.7.3  Other analyses .........................................................................................................................34 

4.8 

Regional aggregation.......................................................................................... 34 
4.8.1  General ....................................................................................................................................34 
4.8.2  Geographic zones ....................................................................................................................35 
Economic zones.......................................................................................................................35 
4.8.3 

4.9 

Correction for working days and seasonal adjustment....................................... 35 

5  DISSEMINATION ............................................................................................... 36 

5.1 

5.2 

5.3 

5.4 

5.5 

Type of users ...................................................................................................... 36 

Publications on line ............................................................................................ 37 

Data on line......................................................................................................... 38 

DVD-ROM ......................................................................................................... 38 

COMEXT database............................................................................................. 39 

5.6  Metadata ............................................................................................................. 40 

5.7 

European Statistical Data Support...................................................................... 40 

LIST OF ANNEXES  

Annex 1:   National Authorities responsible for the compilation of foreign trade 

Statistics....................................................................................................... 41 

Annex 2:  Scheme of statistical recording of imports (extra-EU trade) and arrivals 

(intra-EU trade)............................................................................................ 44 

Annex 3:  Scheme of statistical recording of exports (extra-EU trade) and dispatches 

(intra-EU trade)............................................................................................ 45 
Annex 4:  Exclusions.................................................................................................... 46 
Annex 5:  Alphanumeric Codes ................................................................................... 47 
Annex 6:  Conceptual differences between national figures and those sent to Eurostat 

by Member States ........................................................................................ 48 
Annex 7:  Overview on external trade products........................................................... 49 

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1  INTRODUCTION 

1.1 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1.2 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

Purpose of the user guide 

The purpose of this user guide is to assist in the use and analysis of the statistics of 
trade  in  goods  published  by  the  Statistical  Office  of  the  European  Communities 
(Eurostat). The guide describes the basic methodology used for the compilation of 
statistics, the role of Eurostat in the dissemination of them as well as the sources 
which  are  available  to  the  users.  It  provides  also  some  information  on  the 
differences that exist between EU statistics and those published by Member States 
and by other international organisations.  

This publication is aimed at the general user of these statistics and does not require 
a specialist background to be understood.  

This edition was completed in January 2006 and reflects the position at that date.  

The  information  contained  in  this  guide  does  not  supersede  existing  regulations 
governing  international  trade  statistics  and  has  no  legal  force.  Eurostat 
(International  trade  statistics  –  Unit  G2  ‘methodology  and  classifications’  and 
Unit G3 ‘production’, fax: 352 - 43 01 30019) will be pleased to provide further 
information to users on particular issues not dealt with.  

The  guide  can  be  read  in  complete  sequence  or  by  accessing  particular  sections. 
The  most  important  part  of  the  guide  for  the  user  is  certainly  Section  2  on 
methods.  This  describes  most  of  the  basic  concepts  and  definitions  and  explains 
the variables that the user can exploit. It also addresses the differences that may 
exist between different sources. The guide is supported by 7 annexes. 

Use of international trade statistics  

The need for statistics on trade in goods is self-evident. International trade forms 
an important part of the world economy and, as such, must be measured reliably 
and the relevant statistical data should be comparable and widely disseminated.  

International trade statistics are an important primary source for most public- and 
private-sector decision-makers. For example, they enable Community authorities 
to prepare for multilateral and bilateral negotiations within the framework of the 
common  commercial  policy  and  to  evaluate  the  progress  of  the  internal  Market 
and the integration of European economies, they constitute an essential source of 
information  for  balance  of  payments  statistics,  national  accounts  and  short-term 
economic  studies.  In  addition,  they  help  European  companies  carry  out  market 
research and define their commercial strategy. 

The  statistics  satisfy  this  need  in  a  variety  of  ways.  Users  may  need  either  very 
aggregated  or  very  detailed  data  on  products  or  partner  countries.  They  may  be 
interested in  movements of values of trade in current prices or in movements of 
the volume of trade at constant prices. Alternatively, their interest may be in the 
weight of trade or some other quantity measure.  

These  examples,  which  are  far  from  exhaustive,  show  the  diversity  of  the  users 
and their requirements. Eurostat tries to meet these various needs and to adapt to 
the changing environment as the progression toward globalisation, in particular, is 
becoming more and more important.  

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10.  The  system  for  collecting  statistics  on  the  trade  in  goods  has  undergone  major 
changes in recent years. The introduction in 1988 of the Combined Nomenclature 
(CN)  and  Single  Administrative  Document  (SAD)  led  to  important  changes  in 
statistics  on  trade  with  non-member  countries.  Subsequently,  the  advent  of  the 
Single  Market  on  1  January  1993,  with  its  removal  of  customs  formalities  (the 
traditional source of statistical data on international trade) between Member States 
enforced the adoption of a new data  collection system, Intrastat, as the basis for 
statistics on intra-Community trade. 

11.  The  introduction  of  Intrastat  involved  a  methodological  break  with  the  past  and, 
initially at least, reduced the quality of the statistics. Many efforts have been made 
to  improve  the  quality  of  the  results  but  also  to  rationalise  the  statistical  system 
and reduce the burden on data providers while maintaining a satisfactory level of 
information.  

1.3 

Links with balance of payments and national accounts  

12.  One important use of international trade statistics in the majority of countries is to 
provide  a  data  source  for  the  estimation  of  those  components  of  the  balance  of 
payments  and  the  national  accounts  which  relate  to  trade  in  goods.  The  most 
appropriate  definitions  for  these  components  are  set  out  internationally  in  the 
Balance  of  Payments  Manual  (Fifth  edition)  (BPM5)  published  by  the 
International  Monetary  Fund  and  in  the  System  of  National  Accounts  –  1993 
(SNA) jointly published by the United Nations, the Commission of the European 
Communities and other international organisations.  

13.  The  latest  international  recommendations  which  particularly  relate  to  trade 
statistics are given by  International Merchandise Trade  Statistics: Concepts  and 
Definitions (Series M, No 52, Rev. 2) published in 1998 (IMTS). While these take 
account  of  the  recommendations  of  BPM5  and  recommend  a  move  toward 
harmonisation  among  different  concepts,  there  are  differences  between  the 
recommendations  for  international  trade  statistics  and  the  goods  account  of  the 
balance  of  payments  in,  for  example,  coverage,  valuation  and  some  special 
aspects.  

14.  These differences reflect both the differing priorities of users and the problems of 
data  collection  because  of  the  more  detailed  requirements  of  international  trade 
statistics.  

15. 

It is not the purpose of this guide to discuss in detail the adjustments that must be 
made  to  international  trade  statistics  to  convert  them  to  figures  on  a  balance  of 
payments basis (where it is the trade statistics that are the source of the balance of 
payments figures). It is sufficient to note that such conversion is necessary. It may 
have a substantial effect on the figures, for example from the different methods of 
valuation used for imports. 

1.4 

1.4.1 

Institutional framework 

General  

16.  The  compilation  of  trade  figures  rests  on  a  series  of  Council  and/or  European 
Parliament  and  Commission  regulations;  the  final  work  is  a  co-operative  effort 

2

 
 
between  Eurostat  and  the  appropriate  bodies  in  the  Member  States  which  are 
responsible for collecting and processing the basic information.  

1.4.2 

National authorities 

17.  Annex 1 provides a list of competent authorities in each Member State. These are 
most  often  the  national  statistical  institutes  but  also  include  some  national 
Customs  authorities  and,  for  Belgium,  even  the  National  Bank.  In  practice,  the 
division  of  responsibilities  for  collection,  processing  and  dissemination  of  trade 
data  may  be  quite  complex  and  vary  from  Member  State  to  Member  State.  The 
authorities listed in Annex 1 can be contacted by users of trade data who wish to 
query some aspects of national data.  

1.4.3 

Community authorities  

18.  Eurostat  (the  Statistical  Office  of  European  Communities)  has  the  responsibility 
for overseeing and developing work on international trade statistics of goods.  

19.  The main areas for which Eurostat is responsible are as follows:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Methodology; 

Classifications; 

Dissemination of EU statistics; 

Analysis; 

Co-operation 
EDICOM program.1 

20.  Eurostat  Unit  G2  and  Unit  G3  operate  in  this  area  of  responsibility  in  close 
collaboration with other Eurostat services and with the other Directorates General 
with an interest in the use of statistics on international trade in goods. 

21.  Co-operation between Member States and Eurostat is full and regular. It has been 
formalised  by  the  creation  of  working  parties  and  management  committees. 
Where  discussion  is  directed  toward  the  creation  or  amendment  of  Council, 
European Parliament  or Commission regulations serving as a basis for statistics, 
the  procedures  naturally  follow  those  appropriate  for  EU  legislation  more 
generally.  

1.5  Legal background 

1.5.1  General 

22.  Eurostat  is  responsible  for  harmonising  Community  legislation  in  the  field  of 
statistics  on  the  trading  in  goods  and  ensuring  that  the  legislation  is  applied 
correctly. The statistics to be provided to Eurostat are therefore based on precise 
legal  texts,  directly  applicable  in  the  Member  States,  and  on  definitions  and 
procedures  which  have  to  a  large  extent  been  harmonised.  Different  legislation 
applies  to  statistics  on  trade  between  Member  States  (known  as  “intra-EU  trade 

1 A set of actions relating to the trans-European network for the collection, production and dissemination 
of statistics on the intra- and extra-EU trading of goods (Edicom)  

3

 
                                                 
 
statistics” or “Intrastat”) and trade between Member States and countries that are 
not members of the European Union (“extra-EU trade statistics” or “Extrastat”).  

23.  A complete pool of texts regarding Community legislation in the field of external 
trade  statistics  is  published  by  Eurostat  and  all legal  texts  of  the  community  are 
accessible  on  Eur-Lex.  The  position,  however,  is  not  static  with  new  legislation 
regularly being updated and adapted to reflect new needs and to further harmonise 
practices. Indeed, a revised legislation for intra Community trade statistics entered 
into force in January 2005 and a revision of the regulations on extra Community 
trade is planned for 2008.  

24.  The  user  of  trade  statistics  does  not  require  a  detailed  knowledge  of  this 
legislation.  The  consequences  of  the  legislation  in  terms  of  issues  of  concern  to 
the user, such as the trade systems and classifications used, are set out in Section 2 
– Methods – below.  

1.5.2  Intra-European Union trade 

25.  Statistics on trade between the Member States of the European Union are based on  
a  European  Parliament  and  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  638/2004  of  31  March 
2004 and on the implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 1982/2004 of 18 
November  2004  which  lay  down  or  supplement  the  rules  on  methodology, 
thresholds  and  specific  movements  and  one  amending  Commission  regulation 
((EC)  No  1915/2005  on  simplified  quantity  reporting).  The  Intrastat  system, 
which was created as a means of collection of these statistics, came into operation 
on 1 January 1993. Its main features are given in the following paragraphs. 

26. 

27. 

28. 

It  provides  for  direct  collection  of  information  from  trade  operators,  which 
send the relevant national administration a summary declaration for the previous 
month’s  operations.  In  France  and  Italy,  these  declarations  also  serve  statistical 
and fiscal purposes. 

It is based on a close link with the VAT system relating to intra-EU trade. The 
tax authorities of the Member States are required, at least once every quarter, to 
transmit to the statistical services a list of operators who have made purchases or 
sales and the value of these operations, so that the exhaustiveness and quality of 
the statistical data can be checked.  

It aims to reduce the burden on trade operators as far as possible. For all trade 
operators involved, Intrastat meant a lighter workload compared with the previous 
system. The application of a threshold system meant, in practice, that very many 
operators were exempted from any formalities or the information which they had 
to  provide  was  significantly  reduced.  The  burden  on  providers  is  regularly 
reviewed.  

29.  Measures  to  modernise  data  collection  production  and  dissemination  have 
been  introduced  as  part  of  a  program  called  EDICOM.  Numerous  tools  were 
developed. They were intended for both the information providers (for example, 
IDEP  software  helping  in  the  compilation  of  declarations)  and  the  national 
statistical services (collection and processing of statistical data).  

4

 
 
1.5.3  Extra-European Union trade 

30.  Statistics on the European Union’s trade with non-member countries are currently 
based on Council Regulation (EC) No. 1172/95 (consolidated version) of 22 May 
1995,  the  implementing  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1917/2000  of  07 
September  2000  and  three  amending  Commission  Regulations  ((EC)  No 
1669/2001  on  the  threshold,  (EC)  179/2005  on  the  transmission  delay  and  (EC) 
1949/2005 to exclude repair). Two features of Regulation 1172/95 deserve special 
mention. 

31.  The subject of extra-EU trade statistics and the information which they contain are 
defined  with  reference  to  the  legislation  and  customs  procedures,  whereas  the 
collection of data is based mainly on the Single Administrative Document (SAD).  

32. 

In  order  to  meet  their  specific  national  needs,  the  Member  States  collect  and 
process other information which is contained in the SAD but which is not required 
at Community level. Similarly, particular requirements governing certain fields exist 
at  national  level  in  the  absence  of  harmonisation  at  Community  level.  This  is 
particularly so in the case of ‘specific movements', for example, military goods and 
postal consignments (see  2.5). Some Member States also compile statistics on transit, 
customs warehouses and free zones. 

1.5.4  Other Community legislation  

33.  There is a range of other legislation which has relevance to statistics on trading in 

goods: 

•  Council2  regulations  relating  to  EU  statistics,  which  provide  a  reference 

framework for all statistics, including those for trade; 

•  Customs  regulations,  particularly 

the  community  customs  code  and 

regulations for product nomenclature; 

•  Decisions regarding the electronic exchange of information that serves as a 

reference framework for the Edicom program. 

1.5.5  International recommendations and provisions 

34. 

In  addition  to  the  EU  legal  requirements  there  are  a  number  of  international 
recommendations  and  conventions  relevant  to  this  topic  although  they  do  not 
generally have direct legal force. Among them, many recommendations, as noted 
in 2.0 below, are contained in the United Nations Statistics  Division  publication 
International Merchandise Trade Statistics: Concepts and Definitions (Series M, 
No 52, Rev.2) (IMTS); 1998 and the International Merchandise Trade Statistics: 
Compiler  Manual;  2004  which  represents  an  international  reference  publication 
on this subject. 

35.  A set of definitions concerning Customs issues that are relevant for some data on 
trade statistics is given within the Kyoto Convention (International convention on 
the simplification and harmonisation of customs procedures). 

2 n°322/97 of 17.2.97 JO L52 of 22.2.97 

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1.5.6  National legislation 

36.  While  EU  legislation  harmonised  most  important  aspects  of  the  data  that  are 
compiled by Member States for transmission to Eurostat, members of the EU have 
the freedom to publish national statistics on alternative bases. Where such distinctions 
are important they are discussed in the relevant part of the guide (see  2.18). 

37.  Member States draw up their own instructions or national regulations. It is not the 
purpose of the guide to set out this legislation which may be available, however, 
from the national authorities listed in Annex 1. 

2  METHODS 

2.1  General 

38.  The statistics of trading in goods by the European Union (EU) cover both outward 
flows  from  Member  States  and  inward  flows  into  Member  States.  Methodology 
differs in a number of ways for external trade of the EU (extra-EU trade) or for 
trade between Member States (intra-EU trade).  

39. 

In broad terms, outward flows from a Member State to a non-member country are 
called  "exports":  outward  flows  from  one  Member  state  to  another  are  called 
"dispatches".  Inward  flows  from  a  non-member  country  are  called  "imports": 
inward flows from another Member State are called "arrivals". 

40.  There  is  a  range  of  methodological  issues  relevant  to  the  definition  and 
measurement of these international trade flows. These are considered fully in the 
United  Nations  Statistics  Division  publication  International  Merchandise  Trade 
Statistics: Concepts and Definitions (Series M, No 52, Rev.2) (IMTS) which sets 
out  internationally  agreed  recommendations  for  the  treatment  of  the  various 
issues.  

41.  Both the EU legislation and national practices are for the most part in line with the 
recent  recommendations  of  the  United  Nations  (1998).  But  there  are  some 
differences. This guide concentrates on describing the Community rules. 

42.  Community  rules  differ  as  between  intra-EU  trade  and  extra-EU  trade.  The 
following sections describe the main features of the largely harmonised statistics 
on trade in goods as published by Eurostat. It should be noted, however, that data 
published  by  individual  Member  States  of  their  own  trade  do  not  always  follow 
the concepts and definitions applicable for data transmitted to Eurostat. The main 
differences are mentioned in  2.18.  

2.2  Trade systems 

2.2.1  General trade and special trade 

43.  There are broadly two approaches, closely linked with customs procedures, used 
for  the  measurement  of  international  trade  in  goods.  These  are  the  general  trade 
system and the special trade system.  

44.  The general trade system is the wider concept and under it the recorded aggregates 
include all goods entering or leaving the economic territory of a country with the 
exception of simple transit trade. In particular, all goods which are received into 
customs  warehouses  are  recorded  as  imports  at  that  stage  whether  or  not  they 

6

 
 
subsequently  go  into  free  circulation  in  the  Member  State  of  receipt.  Similarly, 
outgoing  goods  from  customs  warehouses  are  included  in  the  general  trade 
aggregates at the time they leave the Member State.  

45.  The special trade system, on the other hand, is a narrower concept. Goods from a 
foreign country which are received into customs warehouses are not recorded in 
the  special  trade  aggregates  unless  they  subsequently  go  into  free  circulation  in 
the  country  of  receipt  (or  are  placed  under  the  customs  procedures  for  inward 
processing or processing under customs control). Similarly, outgoing goods from 
customs warehouses are not recorded as exports.  

46.  The differences between the two systems cause in particular a time lag when the 
movements  are  recorded,  but  it  is  more  than  that.  For  example,  goods  from 
country  A,  placed  in  a  customs  warehouse  of  country  B  and  re-exported  from 
there to country C will appear in general trade statistics for country B (if such a 
system is applied) but never in special trade statistics for that country. 

47.  Statistics on extra-EU trade are compiled on a special trade basis. Intra-EU trade 
statistics, however, which are defined specifically in terms of the Intrastat system 
and do not have a direct link to customs procedures, are not compiled on a general 
or special trade basis.  

48.  For their national figures of extra-trade, however, Denmark, Greece, Ireland and 
the  United  Kingdom  publish  only  according  to  the  general  trade  system  but 
provide  extra-EU  trade  data  to  Eurostat  on  a  special  trade  basis.  Germany, 
Estonia, Cyprus and the Netherlands publish trade figures as well on a general and 
a special trade basis. 

49.  All Member States base their measurement of intra-EU trade on Intrastat system 
rules. However, the United Kingdom publishes their national figures of intra-EU 
trade fully on a general trade basis, including goods under custom control. They 
differ, therefore, from the figures they provide to Eurostat. 

2.2.2  Intra-European Union trade 

50. 

Intra-EU trade statistics record the arrival and dispatch of goods flowing between 
Member States according to the rules of the Intrastat system.  

51.  Arrivals in a given Member State include: 

a)  goods in free circulation which enter the statistical territory (see 

 2.6

 below) of 

the Member State; 

b)  goods  which  have  been  placed  under  the  customs  procedure  for  inward 
processing  or  processing  under  customs  control  (for  processing)  in  another 
Member State and which enter the statistical territory of the Member State in 
question; 

c)  Some goods movements are included in statistics based on specific conditions 
(see   2.5  below).  In  particular,  aircraft  and  ships  whose  ownership  has  been 
transferred  from  a  person  established  in  another  Member  State  to  a  person 
established  in  the  Member  State  in  question  are  included  in  the  statistics  of 
arrivals of this latter Member State. 

52.  Dispatches from a given Member State include: 

7

 
 
a)  goods  in  free  circulation  which  leave  the  statistical  territory  of  the  Member 

State bound for another Member State; 

b)  goods  which  have  been  placed  under  the  customs  procedure  for  inward 
processing  or  processing  under  customs  control  (for  processing)  in  the 
Member State and which are destined for another Member State; 

c)  Some goods movements are included in statistics based on specific conditions 
(see   2.5  below).  In  particular,  aircraft  and  ships  whose  ownership  has  been 
transferred  from  a  person  established  in  the  Member  State  in  question  to  a 
person  established  in  another  Member  State  are  included  in  the  statistics  on 
dispatches of the former Member State. 

53.  Statistics  do  not  cover  goods  in  transit,  that  is  goods  that  are  merely  passing 
across a Member State, by any means of transport, but are not stored there for any 
but transport reasons. 

54.  Diagrams  illustrating  the  procedure  for  the  statistical  recording  of  arrivals  and 

dispatches are given in Annex 2. 

2.2.3  Extra-European Union trade 

55.  Extra-EU  trade  statistics  record  goods  imported  and  exported  by  the  European 

Union.  

56. 

Imports into a given Member State include : 

a)  goods  which  enter  the  statistical  territory  of  the  Member  State  from  a 

non-member country and are: 

•  placed under the customs procedure for release into free circulation (goods 
that  will  be  consumed  in  the  importing  Member  State  or  dispatched  to 
another Member State), either immediately or after a period in a customs 
warehouse; or  

•  placed  under  the  customs  procedure  for  inward  processing or  processing 
under  customs  control  (usually  goods  destined  to  be  processed  for 
subsequent  re-export)  either  immediately  or  after  a  period  in  a  customs 
warehouse.  

b) some  movements  of  goods  are  included  in  statistics  based  on  specific 
conditions (see   2.5 below). In particular, aircraft and ships whose ownership 
has been transferred from a person established in a non-member country to a 
person  established  in  the  Member  State  in  question  are  included  in  import 
statistics of this Member State. 

57.  Exports from a given Member State include: 

a)  goods which leave the statistical territory (see  2.6 below) of the Member State 

bound for a non-member country after having been placed: 

•  under the customs export procedure (final export, export following inward 

processing, etc.); or 

•  under the customs outward-processing procedure (usually goods destined to 

be processed for subsequent re-import). 

8

 
 
b) some goods movements are included in statistics based on specific conditions 
(see   2.5  below).  In  particular,  aircraft  and  ships  whose  ownership  has  been 
transferred  from  a  person  established  in  the  Member  State  in  question  to  a 
person established in a non-member country are included in export statistics of 
that Member State. 

58.  Extra-EU  trade  statistics  do  not,  therefore,  record  exchanges  involving  goods  in 
transit,  placed  in  a  customs  warehouse  (purely  for  storage)  or  given  temporary 
admission (for trade fairs, temporary exhibitions, tests,…). 

59.  Diagrams of the procedure for the statistical recording of imports and exports are 

given in Annex 2. 

2.3  Coverage 

60. 

In broad terms, the aim of international trade statistics is to record all imports or 
exports of goods that add to or subtract from the stock of material resources of a 
country.  

61.  There are inevitably some problems in practice in defining the precise boundary 
that corresponds to the theoretical aim and more so in implementing the regular, 
timely and detailed production of monthly data.  

62.  The  coverage  of  the  statistics  that  are  required  to  be  sent  to  Eurostat  follows 
almost  entirely  from  Community  legislation  although  on  a  few  points  the 
interpretation  is  implicit  rather  than  explicit.  The  following  paragraphs  indicate 
the major areas that may raise problems.  

63.  Barter  trade  is  included  (although  there  are  inevitably  some  problems  of 

valuation). 

64.  Goods on consignment are included. (Goods on consignment are goods intended 

for sale but not actually sold at the time they cross the frontier). 

65.  Goods  on  operational  lease  are  generally  excluded  but  are  included  in  their 
national figures and in the figures that they provide to Eurostat by some Member 
States. 

66.  Goods  on  financial  lease  are  generally  included.  (A  financial  lease  effectively 

transfers the ownership of the goods to the lessee). 

67.  Goods  traded  between  enterprises  under  common  ownership  are  included 

(although this may raise problems of valuation). 

68.  Goods traded on government account are generally included. 

69.  Trade in electrical energy – and indeed gas and water - is included (even though 

electrical energy might not be intuitively seen as a physical good). 

70.  Goods in transit (either in simple transit or transit involving transhipment) across 
the  European  Union  area  are  not  included  in  trade  statistics.  However,  goods 
which  enter  the  European  Union  area  are  released  into  free  circulation  and  are 
then  transferred  from  the  Member  State  of  entry  to  another  Member  State  or, 
conversely,  originate  in  one  Member  State  but  leave  the  European  Union  area 
through  another  where  customs  procedures  are  carried  out,  must  be  included  in 
statistics.  

9

 
 
71.  Ten  Member  States  (Belgium,  Denmark,  Latvia,  Luxembourg,  Hungary,  the 
Netherlands,  Austria,  Poland,  Portugal  and  the  United  Kingdom)  do  not  follow 
this  practice  in  their  national  figures  and  goods  in  transit  are  excluded  from 
statistics. Before 1998 Belgium also did not cover these flows. (see Annex 6) 

72.  Statistics  do  not  generally  include  illegal  trade,  for  obvious  practical  reasons, 
although figures for Germany include illegal trade that has been discovered. 

73.  Maintenance and repair trade was included up to December 2004 for Intra-EU 

and up to December 2005 for Extra-EU trade and is now excluded.  

2.4  Exclusions 

74.  The implementing Regulations covering the compilation of intra-EU and extra-EU 
trade statistics contain explicit exclusions lists, which are very similar (see lists in 
Annex 4).  

75.  The list of exclusions also includes means of payment which are legal tender and 
securities  and  monetary  gold.  Monetary  gold  is  gold  effectively  held  by  a 
country’s  authorities  as  a  reserve  asset.  Trade  in  "non-monetary  gold"  is, 
therefore, included; the United Kingdom is unable for practical reasons to include 
monetary  and  non-monetary  gold  held  as  a  store  of  value;  both  are  therefore 
excluded by this Member State.  

76.  Trade  data  generally  reflect  the  coverage  implied  by  the  list  of  exclusions 
although  for  Greece  which,  for  practical  reasons,  includes  goods  on  temporary 
admission in their main national figures, the EU data also include these goods.  

77. 

It  should  be  noted  that  statistics  of  intra-EU  trade  do  not  cover  transactions 
between private individuals.  

2.5  Specific movements 

78.  Specific  movements  are  defined  within  Community  legislation  as  movements  of 
goods  whose  characteristics  are  significant  for  the  interpretation  of  the 
information. The  characteristics may relate to  the  movement  itself,  the  nature  of 
the  goods,  the  transaction  which  originates  the  movement,  or  the  exporter  or 
importer of the goods.  

79.  They are often categories of goods where the general guidelines given above may 
not entirely clearly indicate whether the categories should be included or excluded 
from  trade  statistics.  They  may  also  be  categories  where  there  are  particular 
difficulties of data collection. 

80.  These  “specific  movements”  of  goods  as  currently  defined  in  the  Community 

legislation are: 

a) 

b) 

c) 

d) 

e) 

f) 

industrial plants;  

vessels and aircraft; 

electricity and gas 

sea products; 

ships’ and aircraft’s stores and supplies; 

staggered consignments; 

10

 
 
g) 

h) 

i) 

j) 

k) 

l) 

military goods; 

offshore installations; 

spacecraft and spacecraft launchers; 

motor vehicle and aircraft parts;  

postal consignments (extra-EU trade only); 

petroleum products (extra-EU trade only); 

m) 

waste products. 

81.  The collection and processing of information relating to these goods are generally 
covered by special rules. For both intra-EU trade and extra-EU trade, harmonised 
rules are contained within the regulations for (a) to (i) above. Intra-EU legislation 
determines  as  well  the  treatment  of  (j).  In  the  absence  otherwise  of  harmonised 
statistical rules at Community level, national special provisions are applicable.  

82.  Some of the trade involving specific movements of goods is included in statistics 
published  by  Eurostat  under  alphanumeric  codes  (see  Annex  5)  rather  than 
relevant headings of the numeric product nomenclature.  

2.6  Statistical territory 

83.  The  statistical  territory  of  the  European  Union  (and  its  Member  States) 
corresponds  generally  to  its  customs  territory.  However,  the  statistical  territory 
(but not the customs territory) of Germany includes Heligoland.  

2.7  Nomenclatures and classifications  

2.7.1  General 

84.  The  basic  classifications  to  be  used  for  trade  statistics  are  laid  down  in 
Community  legislation  and  are  necessarily  used  by  all  Member  States.  These 
classifications are discussed in the following sub-sections.  

2.7.2  Product classifications 

2.7.3  Combined Nomenclature 

85.  The most detailed results which can be accessed by the public are broken down by 
sub-headings  of  the  Combined  Nomenclature  (CN).  This  tariff  and  statistical 
classification, based on the international classification known as the Harmonised 
Commodity  Description  and  Coding  System,  or  more  simply  the  Harmonised 
System or HS, includes ca. 10 000 eight-digit codes.  

86.  Some  changes  are  made  to  CN  once  a  year  to  ensure  that  it  is  kept  up  date  to 
reflect  developing  technology  and  trade  exchanges.    Diverging  interests  exist 
between users, who as a general rule seek more detail, and providers who would 
prefer to give less. 

87.  There  are  also  alphanumeric  product  codes  which  make  it  possible  to  process 
confidential or adjusted data, and a number of individual cases for which it is not 
always possible to break the results down at a detailed level of the classification. 
These codes are accessible via the database on detailed data and at COMEXT (see 
Annex 5).  

11

 
 
88.  The shape of the HS and CN classifications is illustrated in the following table. 

Architecture of the classification (in 2006)  

Nomenclature  

Levels of breakdown

Code

Number   

Harmonised System (HS)    

Section
Chapter  
Heading
Sub -heading  

Combined Nomenclature (CN)     Sub -heading  

SITC   

Section
Division  
Group
Sub -group  
Sub -heading

One digit
Two digits  
Four digits
Six digits  

Eight digits  

One digit
Two digits  
Three digits
Four digits  
Five digits

21   
99   
1 244   
5 224   

 9 842 

10   
67   
261   
1 033   
3 118   

89.  As an example of the classification of a product in the Combined Nomenclature: 

Chapter 10 of the HS: cereals 

Heading 10 06 of the HS: rice 

Sub-heading 10 06 20 of the HS: husked brown rice 

Sub-heading  10  06  20  11  of  the  CN:  Parboiled  round-grain  rice,  husked  brown 
rice. 

2.7.4  TARIC 

90.  Results  are  also  available  at  Eurostat  in  accordance  with  TARIC  sub-headings 
(Integrated  Tariff  of  the  European  Communities),  although  these  data  cannot  be 
accessed by the general public. TARIC applies only to imports (that is flows from 
third countries) and concerns Community measures such as quotas or preferences. 
Each TARIC code comprises 10 digits (a sub-division of a CN eight-digit code).  

2.7.5  Standard International Trade Classification 

91.  The HS and CN are in a sense multi-purpose classifications for both Customs and 
statistical  applications.  They  are  therefore  concerned  heavily  with  the  nature  or 
material of the products. For analytical purposes alternative classifications may be 
used. Certain results are presented in accordance with the Standard International 
Trade  Classification  (SITC  Rev.  3),  which  is  managed  by  the  United  Nations. 
Aggregated data on trade are often presented by the one and two digit categories 
of  the  SITC.  An  example  of  a  1-digit  category  (section)  is  "chemical  products" 
and of a 2-digit category (division) "medicinal and pharmaceutical products".  

92.  The  adoption  of  the  HS  in  1988  necessitated  a  revision  of  the  SITC.  This  latest 
version (Rev. 3) adopts the structure of the HS, so that the smallest modules of the 
SITC  Rev.  3  are  defined  by  HS  sub-headings.  A  link  is  available  from  SITC 
Rev.3 to CN. 

12

 
   
 
  
  
 
 
2.7.6  Other product classifications 

93.  Before  the  adoption  of  HS  and  CN,  external  trade  statistics  used  a  product 
classification  called  Nimexe.  This  is  not  used  any  more  but  users  may  come 
across some historic series in terms of this classification.  

94.  Data on foreign trade may sometimes be published and analysed by a number of 
other classifications all of which can be related to the finest CN headings that are 
used  to  collect  the  basic  data.  The  following  classifications  may  be  encountered 
by the user.  

95.  The  Classification  by  Broad  Economic  Categories  (BEC)  permits 

the 
conversion  of  international  trade  data  compiled  on  the  SITC  into  end-use 
categories  that  are  more  meaningful  for  economic  analysis  and  within  the 
framework  of  the  System  of  National  Accounts  (capital,  intermediate  and 
consumer goods).  

96.  The BEC includes nineteen basic categories. The allocation of components of the 
SITC to BEC is carried out on the basis of the main end-use of the commodities in 
each  SITC,  Rev.3,  basic  heading,  although  it  is  recognised  that  the  use  of  many 
commodities that are traded internationally, for example passenger cars, may vary.  

97.  The  Classification  of  Products  by  Activity  in  the  European  Economic 
Community (CPA 2002) is a European version of the United Nations’ Central 
Product  Classification  (CPC)  but  arranged  so  that  each  product  heading  is 
assignable to a single heading of the European activity classification NACE Rev 
1.1. (See below). A further product classification related to the CPA which is used 
for  studying  industrial  production  is  the  PRODCOM  list.  The  relationship 
between  the  classifications  PRODCOM  and  the  CN  mean  that  it  is  possible  to 
compare external trade and domestic production of individual goods at a fine level 
of detail.  

2.7.7  Classification by activity 

98.  The classification of activities is NACE Rev 1.1 which was made obligatory in the 
European  Union  from  January  1993.  It  is  not  a  classification  of  products  but  of 
economic  activities  that  create  products.  However,  it  is  possible  to  associate  the 
sub-headings  of  the  CN  with  the  activities  or  industries  indicated  in  NACE  Rev 
1.1 and so create an analysis of foreign trade in terms of headings of NACE Rev 
1.1 that are familiar to many users of industrial statistics.  

99.  However, it is important to note that such a figure of, say, exports for a particular 
industry does not represent the exports of that industry when it is defined in the 
usual business statistics way as the aggregate of statistical units classified to that 
particular  industry.  This  is  because  an  industry  in  general  makes  (and  exports) 
some products that are the products of other industries. Similarly, the analysis of 
imports may generate confusion.  

2.7.8  Nomenclature of countries and territories 

100.  The nomenclature of countries and territories for the external trade statistics of the 
Community  and  statistics  of  trade  between  Member  States  -  known  as  the 
"Geonomenclature"  is  an  essential  element  in  compiling  these  statistics.  In 
particular, it makes it possible to identify those involved in trade, i.e. the reporting 

13

 
 
 
country  and  the  partner  country.  If  necessary  the  geonomenclature  is  subject  to 
annual  revision  in  order  to  incorporate  the  adjustments  needed  for  statistical 
purposes and to take into account any geopolitical changes.  

2.8  Reference period 

101.  Intra-EU  trade  statistics  are  compiled  monthly.  Information  is  generally 
recorded in the calendar month in which the goods were traded or, failing that, in 
the  following  month.  The  reference  period  might  be  assigned  by  the  Member 
States  to  a  given  month  on  the  basis  of  the  date  on  which  Value  Added  Tax 
becomes chargeable on intra Community acquisitions.  

102.  Extra-EU  trade  statistics  are  also  compiled  monthly.  The  reference  period  in 
theory is again the calendar month in which the goods are imported or exported. 
In practice, information is generally assigned to the month in which the customs 
authority accepts the declaration. 

103.  For  balance  of  payments  purposes,  the  reference  timing  is  that  of  change  of 
ownership.  In  practice,  it  would  be  difficult  to  operate  such  a  definition  for 
international  trade  figures  and  in  any  event  that  would  not  in  theory  be  such  a 
satisfactory definition for those interested in the transport aspects of the trade data. 
However, it is believed that the definitions used generally coincide with the timing 
of ownership changes, although by no means always.  

104.  In  Eurostat  publications,  quarterly  and  yearly  data  are  formed  from  the 
aggregation  of  the  relevant  months.  National  practices  in  the  treatment  of 
revisions and corrections, however, may mean that the position is more complex 
and  figures  for  a  quarter  or  a  year  may  be  published  which  are  not  exactly  the 
aggregates of published monthly figures. 

2.9  Statistical thresholds 

2.9.1  General 

105.  In order to limit the burden on businesses of providing information on trade, while 
at the same time maintaining an acceptable quality of data, a system of thresholds 
is  operated  for  both  intra-EU  trade  and  extra-EU  trade  below  which  no 
information, or reduced information, is collected.  

2.9.2  Intra-EU trade thresholds 

106.  In order to reduce the burden on enterprises, particularly small and medium sized, 
the  Intrastat  system  is  designed  so  that  the  workload  for  information  providers 
varies  according  to  the  amount  of  trade  in  which  they  are  engaged.  To  achieve 
this,  each  Member  State  applies  a  system  of  thresholds  aimed  at  guaranteeing  a 
satisfactory  quality  of  statistical  data  and  limiting  the  workload  for  companies. 
(The adjustments carried out by some Member States to estimate for information 
not  collected  because  of  these  thresholds  are  discussed  in  the  Quality  Report  of 
foreign trade statistics) 

107.  There  are  various  types  of  threshold.  They  are  discussed  in  the  following 

paragraphs. 

108.  It has already been mentioned that intra -EU trade statistics do not cover arrivals 
and  dispatches  carried  out  by  private  individuals.  In  addition,  small  businesses 

14

 
 
which  are  exempt  from  periodic  value  added  tax  declarations  are  also  exempted 
from Intrastat declarations. 

109.  Exemption  thresholds:  Enterprises  who  never  achieved  this  threshold  in 
arrivals  or  dispatches  do  not  have  to  compile  Intrastat  declarations.  Their 
periodic  VAT  declarations  may  be  taken  for  the  statistical  declarations. 
Coverage above the threshold, all partners included, must be at least 97% of 
the total trade expressed in value of the reporting Member State. 

110.  Simplification  thresholds:  Enterprises  having  a  level  of  arrivals  or  dispatches 
above  the  exemption  threshold,  but  below  the  simplification  threshold,  may 
provide  only  a  limited  data  set.  They  may  report  only  on  “product”,  “partner 
country”  and  “value”.  The  trade  of  these  Parties  responsible  for  providing 
information may not exceed a maximum of 6% of the total trade of the Member 
State [Only FR, SK and LU use it].  

111.  Small 

transaction 

threshold:  Depending  on  National  Authorities,  Parties 
responsible  for  providing  information  could  group  together  transactions  with 
individual  values  less  than  200  Euro,  reporting  only  on  “product  code  99  50  00 
00”, on “partner country” and on “value”.  

112.  Statistical Value threshold: Member States may collect the statistical value of the 
goods from part of the data providers whose trade shall amount to a maximum of 
70 % of the relevant Member State’s total trade expressed in value.  

113.  The thresholds applied by the individual Member States are agreed on annually. 
Those  in  operation  since  2000  are  set  out  in  the  Quality  Report  of  foreign  trade 
statistics.  

2.9.3  Extra-EU trade threshold 

114.  Extra-EU  trade  statistics  do  not  cover  imports  and  exports  whose  value  and  net 
mass are lower than statistical thresholds fixed by Member States within the limits 
permitted by Community legislation. The limits in the legislation are fixed so that 
no export or import with neither net mass of more than one tonne nor a value of 
more than 1000 euros need be recorded. Since 2002, legislation, however, requires 
Member  States  to  adjust  their  statistical  data  to  incorporate  trade  below  the 
threshold in their total results.  

115.  The  amount  of  trade  below  the  thresholds  adopted  by  the  Member  States  is 
generally below 1% for both imports and exports. The amount may be higher for 
some particular products.  

2.10  Statistical data  

2.10.1  Intra-EU trade data  

116.  The main statistical data published by Eurostat for intra-EU trade are as follows: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

the declaring Member State 

the reference period 

the flow 

the product, as defined in the Common Nomenclature 

15

 
 
• 

• 

• 

• 

the trading partner (see 2.11) 

the statistical value (see 2.12) 

the net mass (in tonnes) (see 2.13.1) 

the  quantity  in  any  supplementary  units  (litres,  number  of  parts,  etc.)  (see 
2.13.2) 

• 

the mode of transport (see 2.14.1) 

2.10.2  Extra-EU trade data 

117.  All the data described in paragraph 118 are also available for extra-EU trade. In 

addition data are available to the public for trade with third countries on:- 

• 

• 

the statistical procedure (see  2.11) 

the nationality of the means of transport at the frontier (see  2.15) 

•  whether or not the goods are transported in a container ( see  2.15)  

118.  Information on tariff data (TARIC, preference) is also available in COMEXT, but 

access is restricted to public authorities.  

2.11  Statistical procedure 

2.11.1  General 

119.  Within extra-EU trade, goods may be transferred from a Member State to a third 
country,  or  the  other  way  round,  under  Customs  control,  and  then  return  to  the 
country  of  departure.  Community  legislation  requires  that  these  transfers  are 
classified  in  various  categories.  These  categories  are  known  as  statistical 
procedures, following from customs procedures.  

120.  The procedures are described in the paragraphs below. It should be noted that the 
application  of  a  procedure  is  independent  of  the  nature  of  the  transaction 
concerned (purchase/sale, processing under contract, etc.). In particular, some of 
the goods traded for processing, in the more general economic sense of the term, 
are included under normal imports and exports.  

2.11.2  Normal imports and exports 

121.  Normal  imports  and  exports  are  mainly  goods  exported  definitively,  or  released 

into free circulation, either directly or via a customs warehouse.  

2.11.3  Inward processing trade 

122.  The  inward  processing  procedure  makes  it  possible  to  import  goods  temporarily 
so that they can be processed (assembled or transformed) and then to export the 
resulting compensating products, while benefiting from an exemption from duties, 
levies  or  checks  which  would  be  carried  out  under  the  trade  policy  normally 
applicable to imported goods.  

123.  The  ‘suspension’  system  covers  non-Community  goods,  generally  destined  for 
re-export  outside  the  Community’s  customs  territory  as  compensating  products, 
without the goods being subject to import duties or trade policy measures.  

16

 
 
124.  The ‘drawback system’ covers goods in free circulation, with a reimbursement of, 
or rebate on, import duties relating to these goods if they are exported outside the 
European Union customs territory as compensating products.  

125.  Data are available separately on: 

• 

• 

Imports for inward processing (suspension system) 

Imports for inward processing (drawback system) 

•  Exports after inward processing (suspension system). 

•  Exports after inward processing (drawback system)  

2.11.4  Outward processing trade 

126.  Outward processing makes it possible to export goods temporarily for processing 
and  to  import  the  compensating  products  with  a  full  or  partial  exemption  from 
duties and levies. The ‘textiles’ variant, introduced in 1995, concerns only certain 
textile  products  or  clothing,  whereas  the  ‘tariff’  variant  is  applicable  to  all  other 
products.  

127.  Data are available separately on:- 

• 

• 

Imports after outward processing 

Imports after outward processing for textiles 

•  Exports for outward processing 

•  Exports for outward processing for textiles 

2.12  Partner country  

128.  For  exports  and  dispatches,  the  trading  partner  is  in  principle  the  country  (or 
Member  State)  of  final  destination  of  the  goods  (as  it  is  known  at  the  time  of 
export/dispatch).  This  practice  is  also  applied  by  all  Member  States  in  their 
national figures. 

129.  For  imports  (extra-EU  trade),  the  trading  partner  is  the  country  of  origin  of  the 
goods. Goods obtained entirely from a given country are regarded as originating 
in that country; goods produced in two or more countries are deemed to originate 
in the last country where a substantial processing took place.  

130.  In certain well defined cases (returned goods, goods which have been processed in 
a  third  country,  works  of  art),  the  partner  country  required  for  imports  is  the 
country of consignment. 

131.  For  arrivals  (intra-EU  trade),  the  trading  partner  is  the  Member  State  of 
consignment of the goods. This is the Member State from which the goods were 
dispatched without some halt or legal formality in another country apart from any 
for  transport  reasons.  Conversely,  if  there  was  such  an  operation  in  another 
country, that country becomes the Member State of consignment.  

132.  The  method  of  trade  allocation  to  a  partner  country  is  one  major  reason  for 
problems that arise with the comparison of national and community figures. (See 
 2.18) 

17

 
 
2.13  Valuation 

133.  The  statistical  value,  which  is  used  for  the  trade  data,  is  the  value  calculated  at 
national frontiers. It is an FOB value (free on board), for exports and dispatches, 
or CIF (cost, insurance, freight) for imports and arrivals: it therefore includes only 
incidental  expenses  (freight,  insurance)  incurred,  in  the  case  of  exports  and 
dispatches, in the part of the journey located on the territory of the Member State 
from which the goods are exported and, in the case of imports and arrivals, in the 
part  of  the  journey  located  outside  the  territory  of  the  Member  State  into  which 
goods are imported. 

134.  The statistical value is based on the customs value in the case of extra-EU trade, 
or on taxable value in the case of intra-EU trade. Under the Intrastat system, the 
statistical  value  is  not  provided  systematically  by  the  information  providers;  it 
may be calculated by the national authorities from the invoiced amount given in 
the declaration. 

135.  In  the  case  of  goods  imported  or  exported  for  processing,  it  is  always  the  total 
value of the goods which should be entered, before and after processing, not just 
the value added by the processing procedure.  

136.  Values are collected in the national currency. In the Eurostat publications, they are 
expressed in multiples of euros. The currency conversion is based on the monthly 
average  of  the  conversion  rates  or  for  recent  figures  the  fixed  conversion  rates 
from national currencies to euros. 

2.14  Quantity measurement 

2.14.1  Net mass 

137.  The most common unit of measurement of quantity used in the collection of trade 
data is the net mass. This was collected for all goods until 1997. Since then it has 
not been required for certain categories of goods in intra-EU trade when it is not 
the most suitable quantity unit. As from 2006 Member States may not collect the 
net mass when the supplementary unit is requested. 

138.  The  net  mass  is  the  net  mass  of  the  goods  without  packaging.  It  is  collected  in 

kilograms but in publications it is usually expressed in tonnes.  

2.14.2  Supplementary units 

139.  Supplementary units are units other than the net mass, for example, litres, number 
of parts or square metres. They have to be indicated for certain goods where they 
are deemed useful. The appropriate supplementary unit is given, where relevant, 
in the published version of the Combined Nomenclature.  

140.  There  can  of  course  be  differences  of  scale  between  the  units  collected  and 
forwarded  to  Eurostat  and  those  appearing  in  the  publications  (for  example, 
hectolitre is used instead of litre). Extra attention is, therefore, necessary. 

2.15  Transport data 

2.15.1  Mode of transport 

141.  The  "mode  of  transport"  at  the  frontier  is  one  of  the  statistical  data  that  are 
available  for  both  intra-EU  and  extra-EU  trade;  however,  from  1  January  2001, 

18

 
 
the  collection  of  mode  of  transport  in  intra-EU  trade  has  been  optional  for 
Member States.  

142.  The mode is defined for exports/dispatches as the active means of transport with 
which goods are presumed to leave the statistical territory of the Community for 
exports or of the Member State of dispatch for dispatches. For imports/arrivals it 
is defined as the means of transport with which the goods are presumed to have 
entered the statistical territory of the Community for imports or of the territory of 
the relevant Member State for arrivals.  

143.  The  modes  of  transport  put  forward  to  be  distinguished  by  the  Community 

legislation are: 

•  Sea transport 

•  Rail transport  

•  Road transport 

•  Air transport 

•  Postal consignment 

•  Fixed transport installations 

• 

Inland water transport 

•  Own propulsion 
Further detail may be collected by Member States. 

2.15.2  Nationality of means of transport 

144.  For extra-EU trade, data are collected on the nationality of the means of transport 
at  the  Community  frontier  when  the  transport  is  by  sea,  road,  air  or  inland 
waterway.  

2.15.3  Containerisation  

145.  Again  for  extra-EU  trade,  information  is  collected  on  whether  or  not  goods  are 
transported  in  containers  (except  for  postal  consignment  or  the  own  propulsion 
category). 

2.16  Confidentiality (methodology) 

2.16.1  Confidential data 

146.  As a general definition, data used by the national and Community authorities for 
the  production  of  Community  statistics  are  considered  confidential  when  they 
allow  statistical  units  to  be  identified,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  so  disclosing 
individual  information.  The  precise  operational  criteria  determining  which 
statistical data are considered confidential are fixed by each Member State in the 
light of national legislation or practice. 

147.  Data can be classed as confidential for all types of trade flows (imports, exports, 
arrivals  or  dispatches);  confidentiality  can  concern  both  value  and  quantity 
variables,  all  the  partner  countries  or  a  particular  partner  country.  The 
considerable amount of detail of external trade data that combines the products of 

19

 
 
 
the Combined Nomenclature with partner country means that the potential for the 
creation of confidential data is extremely high. 

2.16.2  Passive confidentiality 

148.  For  statistics  on  trading  in  goods  Member  States  apply  the  principle  of  "passive 
confidentiality", that is they have to take appropriate measures only at the request 
of  importers  or  exporters  who  feel  that  their  interests  would  be  harmed  by  the 
dissemination of the data.  

2.16.3  Active confidentiality 

149.  Passive  confidentiality  is  therefore  different  from  "active  confidentiality",  where 
the  statistical  service  takes  the  initiative  in  acting  on  a  potentially  disclosive 
situation.  

2.16.4  Product confidentiality 

150.  Information  about  a  product  being  traded  may  be  regarded  as  commercially 
sensitive by the information provider for either the value of trade, the quantity of 
trade, or perhaps the ratio between the two since this would give an indication of 
price  of  the  product.  There  are  various  ways  in  which  the  nature  of  the  product 
can be concealed although at the cost of a loss of information to the user of the 
statistics. These methods are discussed further in  4.4. 

2.16.5  Country confidentiality 

151.  Alternatively,  in  addition,  the  information  provider  may  regard  the  origin  or 

destination of a good as commercially sensitive.  

2.17  Statistical discrepancies and asymmetries 

2.17.1  Asymmetries and "mirror" statistics 

152.  Users interested  in  the  flow  of  trade from  country  A  to  country  B  may  examine 
exports from A to B (as reported by A) or imports into B from A (as reported by 
B)  or  both.  They  may  use  national  figures,  Eurostat  data  or  those  of  other 
international organisations. Each source is likely to give to some extent different 
data. This causes uncertainty and difficulties for the user.  

153.  The  existence  of  these  discrepancies  is  an  obstacle  for  the  user  who  may  have 
little  way  of  deciding  which  source  to  prefer.  But  it  also  represents  the  starting 
point for detailed comparison that may help to improve the measurement of flows. 

154.  In  bilateral  comparisons  it  is  advisable  first  to  ensure  that  the  comparisons  are 
possible  in  the  sense  that  data  are  legitimately  comparable.  In  particular,  it  is 
difficult  to  make  comparisons  of  flows  that  do  not  follow  from  the  same  basic 
concept (for example external trade and balance of payments).  

155.  Problems  can  arise  concerning  aggregated  data  for  the  "European  Union".  The 
exports of the EU to the rest of the world are clearly not the same as the sum of 
the total exports/dispatches of each Member State since the latter includes intra-
EU trade.  

156.  Bilateral  comparison  in  the  form  of  “mirror”  exercises  is  a  traditional  tool  for 

detecting the causes of differences in statistics.  

20

 
 
157.  "Mirror"  statistics  may  be  compiled  for  extra-EU  or  intra-EU  trade  statistics, 
using  either  national  data  or  harmonised  data.  Some  sources  of  asymmetries  are 
common to all these data sets, while others have an impact on a specific one only. 
"Mirror"  statistics  of  conceptually  harmonised  Intrastat  data  should  generally  be 
less affected by asymmetries than those for extra-EU trade.  

2.17.2  Intra-EU statistical discrepancies 

158.  In theory, intra-EU statistics of Member States are easily compared – in particular 

if the COMEXT source is used rather than national figures, since: 

• 

• 

the  data  to  be  compared  are  drawn  up  on  the  basis  of  a  broadly  common 
methodology and common definitions; 

the problem of the FOB and CIF valuations generally plays a smaller role in 
view of the geographical context and the structure of intra-Community trade; 

•  given the rules for determining reference periods, time delays should not have 

a such a large impact - at least on annual results;  

• 

the trading partner for arrivals is always the Member State of consignment, not 
the country of origin of the goods.  

159.  However,  since  the  Intrastat  system  came  into  operation,  bilateral  comparisons 
have  revealed  major  and  persistent  discrepancies  in  the  various  Member  States’ 
intra-EU trade statistics. The main reasons are given in the following paragraphs. 

160.  Intrastat  is  based  on  a  system  of  thresholds  (see   2.9  and   4.3)  which  makes  it 
possible  to  exempt  ca.  80%  of  operators  (especially  small  and  medium-sized 
enterprises)  from  statistical  formalities.  For  a  given  transaction,  therefore  a 
company  might  be  required  to  provide  statistical  information  in  one  Member 
State, whereas its supplier or customer in another Member State is exempted. The 
coverage of trade, after application of the statistical thresholds, has varied between 
93% and almost 100% depending on the Member State and should be above 97% 
for each Member State since the beginning of 2005. The imbalance caused by the 
thresholds  can  be  reduced  at  a  global  level  by  means  of  adjustments.  Since 
January 2005 the principle of full coverage is in force which implies that Member 
States should estimate undeclared trade (including trade below threshold) at least 
at chapter level and by partner country. 

161.  The  phenomenon  of  late  or  non-response  by  certain  companies  is  a  serious 
weakness in the Intrastat system. The non-response rate has decreased since 1993, 
but  remains  high,  with  over  10%  of  companies  failing  to  provide  information. 
This represents about 3-4% in terms of value at Community level. There does not 
appear  to  be  a  significant  downward  trend in  this  rate.  The  majority  of  Member 
States  try  to  offset  the  loss  of  coverage  by  means  of  adjustments  (ranging  from 
less than 1% to 14% of the trade value).  

162.  It is possible that an operation is not published by one of the two partners because 
of  statistical  confidentiality  but  is  by  the  other.  However,  the  application  of 
confidentiality procedures should not generally affect the results for total trade. 

163.  Although adjustments (see 4.2) are carried out designed to improve the quality of 
the  statistics  and  compensate  for  the  negative  effects  of  non-response  and 

21

 
 
thresholds, they do not completely avoid inconsistencies between the statistics of 
the various Member States.  

164.  In theory, with the Intrastat system there should be no time lag between the date 
of registration of a transaction as a dispatch in one Member State and the date on 
which  the  same  transaction  is  recorded  as  an  arrival  in  another.  In  practice,  the 
reference month is generally the month in which the goods are exchanged or, at 
worst,  the  following  month.  However,  misapplication  of  the  rules  and  delays  in 
the data processing can have a non-negligible impact on monthly statistics. 

165.  Classification of products under one of over 10 000 sub-headings in the Combined 
Nomenclature can be a problem for businesses - particularly those which are not 
computerised.  The  result  can  be  errors  and  discrepancies  at  the  most  detailed 
level. 

166.  Although  intra-Community  trade  statistics  are  based  on  a  methodology  which  is 
harmonised to a great extent, there are still  a number of  specific  movements  for 
which, in the absence of common rules, national practices diverge. In particular, 
in certain cases, simplifications may be allowed which can affect comparisons of 
results at the most detailed level (see  2.5).  

167.  Valuation of transactions is one of the reasons for discrepancies, particularly the 
use  of  different  methods  for  calculating  the  statistical  value  of  dispatches  (FOB 
value) and arrivals (CIF value).  

168.  Triangular trade can affect comparisons of both intra- and extra-EU trade. In the 
intra-EU  context  triangular  trade  is  said  to  exist  in  the  case  of  a  company  in 
Member  State  A  which  sells  goods  to  a  company  in  Member  State  B,  which  in 
turn  sells  them  to  a  company  in  Member  State  C,  although  the  goods  are 
"physically" forwarded only once - from A to C. 

169.  In  cases  such  as  this,  intra-Community  trade  statistics  should  record  a  dispatch 
from A bound for C, and an arrival in C of goods from A. There is, however, a 
considerable risk that A or C will regard Member State B as its trading partner. 

170.  An  example  illustrating  another  problem  linked  to  indirect  movements,  in 
particular  when  combined  with  the  special  treatment  of  transit  trade  adopted  by 
some Member States is given below. (For background see  2.3). The phenomenon 
described is known as the "Rotterdam” effect. 

22

 
 
Japanese  goods  are  imported  into  Europe;  they  are  released  for  free 
circulation in the Netherlands, and then dispatched to France (Member State 
of  consumption).  For  such  an  operation,  the  various  recordings  will  be  as 
follows: 

For Community statistics, three operations are recorded: 

• import  of  goods  originating  in  Japan  (with  the  Netherlands  as  the 

declaring Member State, since the customs declaration is made there); 

• dispatch (intra) from the Netherlands to France; 

• arrival (intra) in France. 

For  Netherlands  national  statistics,  no  trade  is  recorded,  as  the  import 
from Japan and dispatch to France is regarded as transit trade. 

For  French  national  statistics,  goods  originating  in  Japan  are  entered  as 
imports. France records Japan as the country of origin, as indicated on the 
Intrastat  declaration.  This  information  is  considered  statistically  more 
relevant at national level. 

2.17.3  Extra-EU statistical discrepancies 

171.  A  comparison  of  the  statistics  on  extra-EU  trade  with  the  figures  published  by 
non-member  countries  for  the  same  trade  flows  inevitably  shows  some 
discrepancies. These exist whether national or Community sources are used.  

172.  Many of these differences can be largely explained by the following factors: 

•  Methodological  differences:  trade  coverage,  definition  of  partner  country, 
definition  of  statistical  territory,  different  valuations  in  theory  or  practice 
particularly the difference between FOB and CIF valuations; 

•  Time  lag:  the  same  operation  can  be  recorded  under  a  different  reference 

period because of transport times or also because of processing delays;  

•  Statistical confidentiality: the same operation cannot be recorded in the trade 
of  one  of  the  two  partners  because  of  statistical  confidentiality  (or  the 
procedures used to avoid disclosure may differ); 

•  Different practices in the treatment of revisions; 

•  Problems of currency conversion. 

173.  These  practical  and  methodological  issues  can  give  rise  to  considerable 
discrepancies.  Eurostat  regularly  performs  a  reconciliation  of  EU  trade  statistics 
with those of its main trading partners (for example, USA, Canada and Japan) in 
order to measure and, so far as possible, explain differences. 

2.18  Methodological differences 

2.18.1  Differences between Community and national figures 

174.  There  are  differences  between  the  methodology  applicable  to  trade  statistics 
published  by  Eurostat  (known  as  Community  figures)  and  those  published  by 

23

 
 
 
Member States. The differences exist because, while the information provided to 
Eurostat  is  largely  harmonised,  Member  States  may  publish  data  based  on 
different concepts and definitions. Some of these differences have been mentioned 
in Section 2 and the most important identified there. They are summarised here. 
Member States may publish more than one version of their trade figures or may 
separately  publish  information  which  could  be  used  for  different  purposes.  The 
comparisons that follow are made with what is regarded as their main data. 

175.  The  main  sources  of  conceptual  differences  between  national  and  Community 

figures are given in the following paragraphs. 

176.  Treatment of goods in transit. Goods in transit through the European Union (both 
simple  transit  and  transit  with  transhipment)  are  not  included  in  trade  statistics. 
However,  goods  which  enter  the  European  Union  through  one  Member  State 
where they are released for free circulation before being transferred to another, or 
originate  in  one  Member  State  and  leave  the  EU  through  another  where  exports 
customs formalities are carried out, should be covered in Community data by both 
Member States. However, ten Member States do not currently follow this practice 
at national level.  

177.  Trade system. For extra-EU trade, four Member States use a general trade system 
completely for their national figures while providing data on a special trade basis 
to  Eurostat.  The  position  is  different  for  intra-EU  trade,  with  only  one  Member 
State  (The  United  Kingdom)  publishing  its  figures  on  a  general  trade  basis  but 
sending data to Eurostat following the Intrastat regulations.  

178.  Partner  country  –  arrivals:  Czech  Republic,  Germany,  Estonia,  Spain,  France, 
Ireland  Austria,  Poland,  Slovak  Republic  and  Finland  use  country  of  origin  as 
criterion  for  their  national  figures,  but  provide  data  to  Eurostat  on  a  country  of 
consignment basis.  

179.  It  is  worth  noting  that  coverage  differences,  in  the  sense  of  the  inclusion  or 
exclusion of particular products, do not contribute significantly to the differences 
in sources. Even if there is some lack of harmonisation in the treatment of some 
movements  or  goods,  almost  always  there  is  a  correspondence  between  the 
treatment  adopted  for  national  figures  and  that  used  for  data  transmitted  to 
Eurostat. An abstract on conceptual differences between national figures and those 
sent to Eurostat by Member States could be found in Annex 6. 

2.18.2  Differences between Community figures and other international sources 

180.  No  changes  are  made  by  Member  States  in  passing  data  to  UN,  OECD  or  IMF. 
The differences that exist between data published by Eurostat and those published 
by Member States will therefore exist between Eurostat data and that published by 
these other international organisations.  

181.  There are two other practical reasons for discrepancies between the data published 

by the various international organisations. 

182.  The first is the issue of revisions. The national practices in revising data to correct 
past estimates are complex and vary between Member States as does their practice 
in providing revisions to Eurostat and other international organisations. It is clear 

24

 
 
that  against  this  background  it  is  likely  that  the  data  published  by  different 
organisations and related to different generations of data may differ.  

183.  Having a less important effect, methods to convert national data onto a common 
currency  –  euro  for  Community  figures,  dollars  for  other  sources  –  may  be 
different.  For  example,  if  the  data  flow  to  an  international  organisation  is  only 
annual,  it  seems  the  conversion  must  be  carried  out  with  an  annual  factor.  This 
will produce different results from conversion on a monthly basis; the latter - used 
by Eurostat - is of course preferable.  

184.  These  data  management  problems  are  regarded  as  major  contributory  factors  to 
the differences. An agreement has been reached to limit the problem laying down 
that UN will obtain data from OECD and this organisation will be provided with 
totals for the EU and for the euro-zone by Eurostat.  

185.  However,  users  of  multiple  sources  should  be  aware  of  these  problems.  The 
selection of a source may be based on other factors such as how old, how detailed 
or  how  up-to-date  the  information  available  is.  From  this  standpoint  it  is  worth 
noting that the Community database a detailed data is based on a regular monthly 
flow of data that should allow revisions to be taken on a regular basis.  

3  DATA COLLECTION 

3.1  General  

186.  This guide is aimed at users of trade statistics and does not have the objective of 
giving a detailed description of collection procedures. Nevertheless in this section 
a little general information is given on this issue. 

187.  A  fundamental  aspect  of  those  procedures  is  that  intra-EU  flows  are  measured 

twice by Member States – both as dispatches and as arrivals.  

3.2  Data sources 

188.  Information  on  extra-EU  trade  is  collected  by  the  Member  States  from  the 
statistical  copy  of  the  customs  declaration  (SAD).  Several  Member  States  use 
simplified collection procedures (for example, electronic declarations), which do 
not generally affect the content of the information forwarded to Eurostat. 

189.  Information on intra-EU trade is collected by the Member States using the various 
media placed at the disposal of the information providers. These may be paper or 
electronic  declarations  provided  for  at  national  level.  The  declarations  are 
addressed directly to the competent national administrations. 

190.  The information providers are generally enterprises of a sufficient size according 

to the thresholds system implemented within the framework of Intrastat. 

191.  For intra-EU trade (and to a lesser extent for extra-EU trade) there are thresholds 
below  which  the  information  is  either  absent  or  simplified.  These  have  been 
adopted  to  limit  the  burden  on  information  providers,  while  preserving  an 
acceptable quality of statistical information.  

192.  Within  the  framework  of  Intrastat,  Eurostat  has  developed  a  number  of  tools 
designed to facilitate the various stages of statistics production: completion of the 
declaration  (using  electronic  forms  and  software),  exchange  of  data  between 

25

 
 
providers  and  the  national  administrations,  data  processing  at  national  level, 
exchange  of  data  between  the  national  authorities  and  Eurostat  and,  finally, 
dissemination.  All  these  tools  have  been  developed  under  the  EDICOM 
Programme (Electronic Data Interchange in Commerce).  

193.  For  certain  particular  types  of  goods  (ships  and  aircraft,  for  example),  the 
statistical  services  may  use  other  sources  of  information  for  both  intra-EU  and 
extra-EU trade.  

3.3  Register of Providers of Statistical Information (PSIs) 

194.  An  important  tool  for  the  statistics  collection  and  compilation  process  is  the 
register of information providers and indeed it is a mandatory requirement that a 
register is created and managed of units involved in intra-EU trade. 

195.  Three main uses for the register can be distinguished:  

•  The register provides an aid to efficient and timely collection. It can be used to 

monitor the receipt of information and operate reminder procedures; 

•  The  register  provides  assistance  in  quality  checking  of  received  data,  in 

particular by facilitating comparisons with past data; 

•  The register is an aid to analytical work. It provides a means of estimating for 

those units that have not responded or are below a threshold. 

3.4  Data transmission 

196.  Once the data have been collected, checked and processed by the Member States, 

they are forwarded to Eurostat on electronic media which meet precise standards. 

197.  The data transmission deadlines to Eurostat are : 

• 

• 

• 

for  Extra-EU  trade  statistics  detailed  data:  six  weeks  after  the  end  of  the 
reference month;  

for  Intra-EU  trade  statistics  detailed  data:  ten  weeks  after  the  end  of  the 
reference month to which the results refer;  

for Extra- and Intra-EU trade statistics aggregated data: 40 days after the end 
of the reference month . 

198.  Nearly all Member States are currently able to meet these transmission timetables. 
Eurostat  publishes  preliminary  aggregates  using,  if  necessary,  estimates  for 
missing countries.  

199.  Inevitably,  the  data  first  sent  for  a  month  are  subject  to  the  possibility  of  later 
revision, as a consequence of errors, omissions or – particularly with the Intrastat 
system – late declarations by information providers.  

4  DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS 

4.1  Quality control 

200.  There  are  a  range  of  aspects  that  are  relevant  to  the  quality  of  data:  accuracy, 
measured  in  some  suitable  way,  but  also  timeliness,  availability  and  coherence 

26

 
 
with other data. This section is concerned essentially with the accuracy of the data 
and the methods used to check it.  

201.  The  prime  responsibility  for  ensuring  the  accuracy  of  the  published  trade  data 
rests  with  national  authorities.  They  generally  have  access  to  the  detailed  data, 
often  at  the  individual  transaction  level,  which  facilitates  many  checking 
procedures.  They  are  in  contact  with  the  information  providers  to  follow-up 
incorrect or doubtful declarations. 

202.  Some  procedures  of  control  are  quite  basic.  They  ensure  that  documents  have 
been  fully  completed  and  that  codes  entered  are  valid  and  that  the  correct  units 
have been used.  

203.  Other checks are more sophisticated and assess the plausibility of the basic data, 
and  sometimes  aggregates,  both  in  themselves  and  in  comparison  with  other 
variables (for example past data).  

204.  Further  limited  checks  are  carried  out  by  Eurostat,  essentially  to  ensure  that  the 

transmission of the requested data has been carried out satisfactorily.  

205.  Another  type  of  control  can  be  carried  out  under  the  auspices  of  Eurostat  or  by 
Member States; it is a "mirror" comparison of trade flows between two countries 
measured by each of the partner countries. This is a fruitful method of identifying 
recurring problem areas (See  2.17 above).  

206.  As in all statistical work, a balance has to be struck between the resources devoted 
to checking and the likely benefit. With many millions of individual data forming 
the  basis  of  trade  statistics  it  is  impossible  to  achieve  complete  accuracy  for  the 
published statistics. This places two important recommendations for users.  

207.  The first is to become aware of the margin of inaccuracies in the data used. This is 
particularly so in the commodity codes. The CN structure is detailed and, while it 
is supported by very precise explanatory notes, coding is not always easy.  

208.  A  further  major  problem  which  may  lead  to  inaccurate  statistics,  and  that  is 
certainly  a  constraint  on  the  use  of  detailed  data,  is  the  practice  of  concealing 
confidential information. (See  2.16 and  4.4). 

209.  The  second  recommendation  for  users  of  detailed  information  is  to  regard 
themselves  as  part  of  the  checking  procedure.  In  practice  they  will  often  have 
specialist  knowledge  that  allows  them  to  identify  plausibility  of  published  data. 
Eurostat  and  the  national  offices  will  generally  welcome  any  comment  on  the 
disseminated data. 

4.2  Adjustments  

4.2.1  General 

210.  The  discussion  here  is  primarily  concerned  with  adjustments  made  to  the  trade 
statistics  of  Member  States  because  of  the  incomplete  coverage  within  the 
framework of Intrastat but also, to a much lesser extent, for extra-EU trade. This 
use of the term "adjustments" should not be confused with the procedures adopted 
to convert data produced following the standards for international trade into data 
in  conformity  with  the  system  of  national  accounts  or  the  balance  of  payments. 
(See points  1.3 above and  4.3 below). 

27

 
 
211.  Some  Member  States  choose  to  make  some  corrections  for  incomplete  coverage 
only  in  their  balance  of  payment  figures  rather  than  in  their  trade  statistics  on 
which their balance of payments figures are based. These Member States feel that 
the lack of reliable product or partner country detail makes the adjustments more 
suitable  for  the  more  aggregated  figures  in  the  goods  account  of  the  balance  of 
payments.  

4.2.2  Adjustment of values 

212.  Sub-section   2.9  discussed  the  various  statistical  thresholds  that  exist  within  the 
Intrastat system. In order to minimise the burden on information providers these 
thresholds remove or reduce the data requirements for smaller and medium-sized 
enterprises.  In  addition,  there  is  inevitably  a  problem  of  late  or  non-response  by 
information providers.  

213.  There is not yet a harmonised approach to these problems. However, the majority 
of  Member  States  make  adjustments  for  some  or  all  of  these  factors  in  their 
national  trade  statistics;  these  adjustments  are  generally  passed  to  Eurostat. 
Consequently, the issue of adjustments, while significant in relation to the quality 
of Community data is not a major factor in the differences between data published 
by  Eurostat  and  that  published  by  national  offices  and  made  available  to  other 
international organisations. 

214.  The  overall  results  published  by  Eurostat  take  into  account  the  adjusted  results 
provided  by  nine  Member  States,  and  are  available  in  a  specific  domain  -  the 
‘Intra-Trade  Adjusted  Data’  domain,  which  contains  monthly  results,  broken 
down by trading partner. 

215.  In  addition,  the  adjustments  made  by  Member  States  are  included  in  the  results 
broken  down  by  product,  either  at  the  sub-heading  level  of  the  Combined 
Nomenclature or in Chapter 99 (see Annex 5). 

216.  The  Intrastat  regulation  in  principle  excludes  trade  carried  out  by  private 
individuals or very small enterprises which are not subject to VAT obligations. A 
priori, no adjustments are made to balance this loss of information. 

217.  More detailed information on individual Member States’ adjustment practices for 

Intrastat data is given in the Quality Report on foreign trade statistics. 

218.  The position is less complex for Member States' trade with non-member countries. 
Almost all Member States operate a threshold below which individual transactions 
are  not  recorded.  Since  2002  adjustments  have  to  be  made  to  compensate  trade 
below the threshold. 

4.2.3  Adjustment of quantities 

219.  There are two general situations in which quantity information can be estimated. 
When Member States operate a simplification threshold, and when information on 
net mass for certain products is not requested (see adjustment practices in Member 
States, Quality Report on foreign trade statistics). 

4.2.4  Adjustments to a balance of payments basis 

220.  Most Member States estimate the goods account of their balance of payments by 
making  adjustments  to  their  international  trade  statistics  to  meet  the  different 

28

 
 
definitions  required  for  the  balance  of  payments.  In  practice,  these  adjustments 
aim  to  convert  the  international  trade  statistics  to  the  basis  required  for  the 
national  accounts  since  flows  of  goods  and  services  are  defined,  in  terms  of 
coverage, in virtually identical fashion in the manuals relating to national accounts 
and balance of payment. 

221.  The  necessary  adjustments  deal  with  differences  of  coverage,  the  treatment  of 
particular operations and the time of recording of the transaction. In addition, as 
said, some Member States make adjustments to deal with the incomplete coverage 
of their trade statistics. 

222.  These adjustments are not discussed further in this guide, but are provided in the 
publication  on  ‘Differences  between  Balance  of  Payments  and  Foreign  Trade 
Statistics’. It should, however, be stressed again that it is necessary to distinguish 
carefully between the two methods of calculation to avoid confusion and to note 
that  international  trade  statistics  provide  the  most  suitable  data  set  for  the 
measurement of physical flows of goods.  

4.3  Revisions  

223.  Sub-section   3.4  noted  that  early  versions  of  data  sent  to  Eurostat  by  Member 
States are inevitably subject to revision for a number of reasons. Member States 
must  inform  Eurostat  of  the  revisions  to  be  made  for  each  past  month.  Several 
Member  States  regularly  make  such  corrections.  Some  transmit  revisions  only 
once a year to Eurostat for an entire 12-month period. Corrections, when received, 
are entered in the databases. They can entail many, often major, modifications to 
the published results.  

224.  Original  data and revisions  are  entered onto the  database as soon as practicable. 
The  users  of  the  on-line  database  have  the  benefit  of  the  latest  data  available, 
although the lack of known timetables for updating can lead to the possibility of 
confusion. 

225.  When  mistakes  refer  to  relatively  old  data,  national  administrations  judge  the 

desirability of revising the data.  

226.  Member  States  revise  their  national  figures  and  those  sent  to  Eurostat,  often  on 
different  timetables.  They  in  general  provide  revisions  of  their  data  to  other 
international  organisations.  This  is  (as  already  mentioned)  another  reason  for 
differences  between  data  published  by  Eurostat  and  data  published  by  various 
other international organisations. 

4.4  Confidentiality (processing)  

4.4.1  Confidential data 

227.  Sub-section   2.16  outlined  the  methodology  for  treating  confidential  data.  The 
treatment of confidential data rests with Member States who, with the exception 
of  Czech  Republic,  adopt  identical  procedures  for  their  national  figures  and  the 
data they send to Eurostat. It is believed that no difference exists between national 
figures and data provided to other international organisations. 

29

 
 
The data can be camouflaged only on the level of the results detailed by product. 
Member States' real trade with a particular partner country - at total exports and 
imports level - is thus known.   

228.  Confidentiality has an inevitable effect on the quality of the data.  In particular the 
existence  of  data  regarded  as  confidential  can  change  over  time  and  so  create 
discontinuities  in  the  series.  In  order  to  minimise  this  effect  on  the  quality  and 
usefulness  of  the  published  data,  the  treatment  that  has  been  adopted  is 
documented so far as is possible in the external trade database without of course 
disclosing the actual information (see below and Annex 5). There are mainly two 
types of confidentiality. 

4.4.2  Country confidentiality 

229.  If a Member State wishes to conceal the destination or the origin of a product, the 
code  of  the  partner  country  is  replaced  by  a  ‘secret  country’  code.  This  usually 
distinguishes between intra-EU trade and extra-EU trade.  

230.  The following example illustrates the use of the "secret country" codes to conceal 

trading partner information. 

Application by a Member State of ‘trading partner confidentiality’ to exports and 
dispatches of a particular product 

declared trade: 

Values 

Partners 

Germany  
Italy 
Japan 
Canada 

published trade: 

Germany 
Italy 
Intra -EU trade 
Japan 
Canada 
Extra-EU trade 

1000 
500 
3000 
200 

0 
0 
1500 
0 
0 
3200 

4.4.3  Product confidentiality  

231.  A Member State may decide to make all or part of the trade under a product code 
confidential and so suppress the nature of the commodity involved. This may be 
because the value, quantity or their ratio – as a measure of price – is commercially 
sensitive.  There are various degrees of confidentiality at product level. 

232.  The  trade  can  be  assigned  to  one  of  the  special  codes  available  in  the  external 
trade database containing one or more ‘S’s after the chapter (the first two digits), 
followed  by  the  three-digit  SITC  code.  Where  the  SITC  classification  is  itself 
confidential, this SITC code is replaced by 999. (See Annex 5 for further details 
and the list of alpha-numeric codes used.) This method has the advantage that it 

30

 
 
 
 
permits the publication of results not camouflaged on the level of the chapters or 
SITC groups. 

233.  If trading in the product is so sensitive that the HS chapter under which it should 
be classified must not be identified, it is included under Chapter 99. However, this 
is only possible in exceptional cases. 

234.  As  an  example,  the  results  relating  to  CN  code  17024010  (isoglucose  in  solid 
form, containing, in the dry state, ≥20% and < 50% by weight of fructose) might 
be included in database on external trade under one of the following codes: 

17SSS061  confidential information about trade in Chapter 17 of the CN (sugars 
and  sugar  confectionery)  and  in  Group  061  of  the  SITC  Rev  3 

(sugars, molasses and honey) 

17SSS999  confidential information about trade in Chapter 17 of the CN (sugars 
and sugar confectionery) and unknown SITC Rev 3 Group 

(99SSS999 

confidential information, unknown product). 

4.5  Treatment of discontinuities 

235.  An  almost  inevitable  problem  in  the  compilation  of  statistics  over  time  is  the 
existence  of  discontinuities  in  the  data  collected.  These  can  arise  from 
methodological  changes,  from  changes  in  classification  or  of  definition  of 
aggregates or – as was discussed in   4.4 above - from the application of different 
procedures for dealing with confidential data. 

236.  Some of the discontinuities may be insignificant, at least for the major aggregates; 
others  may  be  sufficiently  large  to  be  relevant  to  interpretation  of  the  data  as  a 
time  series.  While  in  theory  it  may  seem  desirable  to  remove  the  discontinuities 
by  reworking  back  data  or  estimating  it  on  current  definitions,  this  is  often  not 
possible,  at  least  at  the  detailed  level.  In  the  particular  case  of  the  creation  of 
discontinuities  by  the  treatment  of  confidential  data,  the  nature  of  the  problem 
means that the discontinuities cannot be removed. However, even information on 
the existence of these discontinuities is a warning for the users. 

237.  One  particular,  clearly  identified,  problem  arises  from  the  enlargement  of  the 
European Union, for example from the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden 
in 1995 and of course the accession of the 10 new Member States in May 2004.  

238.  The most appropriate treatment for such "discontinuities" is not absolutely clear-
cut  and  may  depend  on  the  particular  use  or  analysis  for  which  the  data  are 
intended.  For  example,  a  study  of  a  time  series  of  euro-zone  exports  from  1999 
onwards  should  include  Greece  (Greece  entered  the  euro-zone  in  2001)  only  if 
required by the aim of the analysis. 

239.  A number of causes of discontinuity are worth mentioning: 

•  German  reunification  in  October  1990.  No  adjustments  to  earlier  data  have 

been made for this.  

•  The introduction of the Intrastat system for recording intra-EU trade in 1993 
led  to  a  discontinuity  because  of  changing  methods,  particularly  the 
introduction of the threshold system. 

31

 
 
 
•  The enlargement of the EU from twelve to fifteen members in 1995. So far as 

possible the discontinuity has been removed from major time series.  

•  Until 31 December 1996 the statistical territory of France did not include the 
French  overseas  departments  and  that  of  Spain  did  not  include  the  Canary 
Islands. (See  2.6). 

•  Since 1999 data recording for Belgium and Luxembourg is separate. 

•  The  new  treatment  methods  of  specific  movements  laid  down  in  the 
legislation valid from the year 2001 are also likely to introduce discontinuities 
difficult to assess.  

•  The accession of the 10 new Member States in May 2004 leads to structural 
changes in the behaviour of trade operators in the new and old Member States. 

4.6  Currency conversion (of aggregates) 

240.  Currency  conversion  plays  two  roles  in  the  compilation  of  trade  figures.  First 
there is the need to convert individual transaction values, which may be expressed 
in any currency, to the currency of the Member State compiling the data. That is a 
methodological problem touched on in  2.13.  

241.  There is also the need to convert Member States’ aggregate statistics, expressed in 
their  national  currencies,  into  a  common  currency  for  the  publication  of 
Community data. Until the end of 1998 the common currency was the ECU. Since 
then  it  has  been  the  euro.  The  conversions  from  national  currencies  to  ECU  or 
euro have been performed using monthly averages of daily exchange rates. These 
conversion factors are generally provided in Eurostat publications and, of course, 
for  members  of  the  euro-zone  coincide  with  the  irrevocably  fixed  rates  for  the 
period 1 January 1999 onwards. 

242.  It should be noted that conversion at the monthly level can lead to discrepancies 
between  annual    data  (Eurostat  source)  and  figures  from  other  international 
sources  where  the  conversion  may  have  been  carried  out  directly  (and  less 
satisfactorily) on the annual statistics. 

4.7  Analyses  

4.7.1  Unit value and volume indices 

243.  Data  provided  to  Eurostat  are  in  current  prices,  that  is  the  prices  relevant  to  the 
reference period concerned. For several analyses it is satisfactory to work in those 
values. For a study of movements of the current price value over time it may be 
helpful  to  convert  the  series  of  values  into  an  index  form  but  that  is  a  simple 
arithmetic operation. 

244.  However, the development over time of the value of trade flows is determined by 
both the quantities sold and price variations. For a number of analytical purposes 
it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  between  these  two  elements  and  in  particular  to 
measure movements in the volume of trade estimated in constant prices of some 
previous base year. It is thus desirable to have some measure of the development 
of price movements of international trade.  

32

 
 
245.  Over the EU as a whole there is no fully detailed and reliable set of relevant price 
deflators even  at  the total trade level that is derived  from surveys  of  import  and 
export  prices  which  could  be  used  to  create  series  of  the  volume  of  trade.  (See 
4.7.2 below). It is therefore necessary to use the information from the trade system 
itself on values and related quantities to estimate a set of deflators. These are used 
to calculate unit value indices and to derive estimates of volumes. 

246.  The data transmitted for intra- and extra-EU trade statistics are used at their most 
detailed  level,  that  is  8-digit  CN  sub-positions  and  by  partner  country,  for 
calculating the indices. The movements of "unit values", which are derived from 
current price values divided by quantities for each flow, are used as indicators of 
price variations.  

247.  The  calculation  programs  comprise  a  first  stage  for  identifying  extreme  unit 
values which show implausible price movements and which must be disregarded 
in the calculations. There are also a limited number of areas (for example, ships) 
where the division of value by quantity gives an unsatisfactory measure of price 
performance. 

248.  As a second stage the system weights the finest level detail together in the most 
appropriate way. The weighting system adopted by Eurostat for the calculation of 
the  indices  uses  the  principle  of  chaining.  That  is,  the  weights  are  recalculated 
each  year  and  movements  from  year  to  year  are  chained  to  give  a  longer  run  of 
data. This is in contrast to using weights from the pattern of trade in a base year 
changed only every five years.  

249.  The chaining procedure has the advantage that the weights used are more relevant 
to  the  periods  measured  and,  in  particular,  improves  the  estimation  of  recent 
movements – which are generally those of most interest to analysts. It also makes 
it easier to deal with the annual changes to CN. However, although the calculation 
system  uses  weights  which  are  changed  annually,  the  published  indices  are 
presented  for  the  convenience  of  users  on  reference  years  that  are  changed  only 
once  every  five  years.  The  current  reference  year  for  the  unit  value  and  volume 
indices is 2000.  

250.  The  year  to  year  links  used  in  the  calculations  of  the  indices  use  the  Fisher 
formula.  This  is  a  geometric  average  of  the  Laspeyres  index  and  the  Paasche 
index.  

251.  The unit value and volume indices are disseminated from the database on external 
trade. Indices are available for both exports/dispatches and imports/arrivals for a 
large  number  of  partner  countries  and  geographic  and  economic  zones  cross-
analysed  by  section  levels  of  the  SITC  Rev  3  and  the  16  two-alpha-character 
headings of CPA/NACE Rev 1 (and aggregates based on them). There are more 
detailed product indices available by partner aggregates intra/extra EU25 as well 
as  intra/extra  euro-zone  and  the  world.  These  include  the  2-digit  level  of  SITC 
Rev 3, the 3-digit level of CPA/NACE Rev 1 and the BEC. In addition, there are 
various hierarchic aggregations based on those classifications (see  2.7). 

252.  Unit value and volume indices are calculated for the various aggregates for which 
data are adjusted for seasonal variations (see  4.9 below). In addition, series of the 
evolution  of  terms  of  trade  are  available.  The  evolution  of  terms  of  trade  is 

33

 
 
measured by dividing the export unit value index by the import unit value index; it 
is said to be favourable when it increases, since the movement permits a country 
to purchase a larger quantity of imports for a given quantity of exports.  

4.7.2  Price indices  

253.  Another way to measure the development of price movements is to collect price 
quotations  directly  from  the  importers  and  exporters  by  means  of  a  statistical 
survey. Information on output prices of non-domestic turnover (essentially exports 
plus  dispatches)  is  required  at  2-,  3-  and  4-  digit  level  of  NACE  by  a  European 
Parliament  and  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1158/2005  concerning  short-term 
statistics. However, this seeks no partner country detail other than split into euro-
zone and non-euro-zone for those Member States who are part of the euro-zone. 
The  same  Regulation  requires  short-term  statistics  on  import  prices  at  1-  and  2-
letter  and  2-digit  level  of  CPA.  Member  States  that  have  adopted  euro  as  their 
currency  are  required  also  to  distinguish  import  prices  from  the  euro-zone  and 
from the non-euro-zone. 

4.7.3  Other analyses 

254.  Another  source  of 

information  for  carrying  out  analysis 

is  given  by 
EUROPROMS  (European  production  and  market  statistics).  This  puts  together 
detailed  and  comparable  data  on  the  values  and  quantities  of  production  and 
external trade of industrial products in the Member States and derives estimates of 
the  domestic  markets  for  each  product  (in  particular,  for  comparability  between 
trade headings and those of the PRODCOM list see   2.7). This is a valuable tool 
for enterprises (and in particular it permits the identification of possible errors in 
the basic data). 

255.  Some other analyses of potential value can only be made by linking trade statistics 
with  general  business  register.  This  approach  provides  new  information  on  the 
structure of traders. An example of analyses of trade data that can be carried out is 
the  measurement  of  the  trade  by  size-class  or  by  sector  of  activity  (NACE  Rev 
1.1,  see  2.7.7)  of  importers  or  exporters.  This  analysis  can  be  made  only  by 
national statistical institutes as this requires access to information about individual 
enterprises which is not generally available to Eurostat. Eurostat is developing in 
close co-operation with Member States a methodology for a common presentation 
of trade statistics by enterprise characteristics.  

4.8  Regional aggregation  

4.8.1  General 

256.  The  data  available  from  the  database  provide  complete  detail,  subject  to  the 
limitations of confidentiality, on the matrix of flows from and to Member States 
for each heading of the CN. In order to meet the users’ requirements, aggregations 
by partner countries are possible. 

257.  The geo-nomenclature involved for gathering data was discussed in   2.7 Eurostat 
has defined certain geographical and economic zones for aggregating data. 

34

 
  
 
4.8.2  Geographic zones 

258.  Examples of geographic zones are:- 

•  North America; 

•  Near and Middle East; 

•  Oceania and polar regions. 

259.  The geographic zones cover the whole world without overlaps. They are shown in 

detail in the Geonomenclature. 

4.8.3  Economic zones 

260.  In  addition  to  the  purely  geographic  zones,  a  number  of  groupings  of  countries 
with  some  common  economic  features  are  defined.  Examples  of  such  economic 
zones are: 

•  EU25 (Member States of the European Union); 

•  Euro-zone (Member States who have adopted the euro: sometimes referred to 

as EUR 12); 

•  EFTA (European Free Trade Association); 

•  OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) 

•  NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). 

261.  The economic zones currently defined do not cover the whole world and there is 
some overlap between zones. The current list of economic zones is shown in the 
Geonomenclature. 

4.9  Correction for working days and seasonal adjustment 

262.  Information  on  EU  trade  is  available  monthly  and  much  of  it  at  a  less  detailed 
level  is  presented  in  publications  and  databases  in  a  time  series  form.  As  with 
most economic data, the interpretation of the monthly or quarterly time series is 
made  more  difficult  because  of  regularly  recurring  seasonal  movements.  For 
example,  trade  in  many  agricultural  products  is  highly  seasonal  and  month  to 
month movements are often dominated by these seasonal factors.  

263.  Monthly,  and  quarterly,  data  are  also  affected  by  the  varying  lengths  of  months 
(and in particular the number of working days that they contain) and the effects of 
public holidays that may change from month to month in different years: Easter is 
the prime example.  

264.  One  partial  solution  to  the  effects  of  seasonality  on  comparisons  over  time  is  to 
make them only with the same month or quarter of the previous year. But that is 
not a very satisfactory procedure since it cannot provide a proper measure of the 
movement of an aggregate through a year which does not equally depend on the 
movement through the previous year.  

265.  To deal with this problem a range of procedures has been devised to estimate and 
then  to  remove  the  seasonal  (including  working  day  and  holiday)  effects  from 

35

 
 
 
time series. Their essence is to breakdown the original monthly (or quarterly) data 
into three components: a seasonal component, a trend component and an irregular 
component.  

266.  The  estimation  of  the  seasonal  component  depends  in  part  on  a  judgement  as  to 
how  quickly  it  may  change  over  time.  The  estimation  of  the  trend  depends 
similarly on assumptions about the appropriate model or method to use to estimate 
it.  

267.  During  recent  years,  many 

improvements  have  been  brought  about 

in 

methodology and in the number of seasonally adjusted series available.  

268.  The series on EU trade are processed by the software DEMETRA, developed by 
Eurostat,  that  carries  out  corrections  for  working  days  as  well  as  launching  a 
method  of  seasonal  adjustment  known  as  TRAMO/SEATS.  An  analysis  of  the 
various  methods  available  had  been  carried  out  previously.  A  full  technical 
discussion of the methods available and the criteria for the choice is available in: 
  http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/dsis/eurosam/library 

269.  The  main  impact  on  the  user  is  in  the  number  of  series  that  are  available.  The 
country  analysis  will  differ  a  little  between  the  euro-zone  series  and  the  EU-25 
series to provide series for non-euro-zone Member States as partners for the euro-
zone series.  

270.  Series  of  values,  as  well  as  volume  indices,  are  compiled  as  a  set  of  raw  series, 
adjusted  series  to  take  the  number  of  working  days  and  seasonal  variations  into 
account, and as trends. Unit value indices (see  4.7. above.) are not adjusted to take 
the  number  of  working  days  and  seasonal  variations  into  account,  due  to  their 
modest seasonality. 

271.  A  key  feature  of  the  data  set  is  its  coherence.  All  series  are  calculated  from  the 
same data set taken at one point in time. As a consequence, for example, volume 
indices  are  equal  to  the  value  movements  divided  by  the  unit  value  indices.  In 
addition,  the  more  aggregated  seasonally  adjusted  series  are  formed  by  the 
addition  of  their  components  (for  example,  the  Member  States  series  compose 
aggregate data for the euro zone and EU-25 countries). 

5  DISSEMINATION  

5.1  Type of users 

272.  Eurostat  is  responsible  for  disseminating  EU  and  euro-zone  external  trade 
statistics.  In  parallel  to  the  actions  carried  out  to  improve  the  quality  and  the 
availability  of  the  statistics,  Eurostat  has  also  diversified  the  means  of 
dissemination:  DVD-ROMs,  pdf  and  paper  publications,  on-line  access  to 
aggregated and detailed data. 

273.  Eurostat is aware of the wide range of users and their divergent interests, which 
may  be  served  either  directly  via  publications  and  access  to  data  bases  or 
indirectly via press releases allowing a broad dissemination of the most significant 
indicators for the general public.  

36

 
 
274.  Eurostat has designed a system of dissemination which meets most of these needs, 
while directing the users to appropriate data sources and providing them with the 
necessary information for the understanding and interpretation of the statistics.  

275.  Eurostat has also to ensure that its methods of dissemination meet the needs of the 
Commission and the other European institutions, the national authorities and the 
European  Central  Bank  to  permit  them  to  carry  out  their  functions.  These  range 
from broad aggregates to permit economic analysis to very detailed data generally 
required for trade negotiations.  

276.  Certain  users  may  be  mainly  interested  in  trade  value  and  others  -  such  as 

transport companies or port authorities - by measures like quantity.  

277.  Annex 7 provides an overview on products disseminated regarding external trade 

statistics. 

5.2  Publications on line 

278.  External trade publications in PDF format are disseminated from Eurostat website 
(www.europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat theme “External Trade”) to the general public 
free of charges. 

279.  First  results  (including  estimates)  on  Euro-zone  and  EU  trade  balances  are 
published on line around 50 days after the  reference month in  the  external  trade 
Euro-indicators  News  Release.  The  precise  date  of  the  monthly  release  is 
disseminated on the website (select language and release calendar). 

280.  The Monthly Bulletin on external and intra-European Union trade complements the 
Statistical  Yearbook  (see  below)  with  short-term  data.  It  is  designed  to  give,  as 
rapidly as possible, the short term evolution of the external trade of the EU and its 
Member  States.  In  particular,  it  contains  trade  flows,  broken  down  by  major  SITC 
product groups, between the EU and its main trading partners.  

281.  The  Statistical  Yearbook  on  external  and  intra-European  Union  trade  describes 
the  long-term  trends  since  1958  in  trade  by  the  EU  and  its  Member  States.  In 
particular, it sets out changes in the structure of trade between the EU and its main 
trading partners.  

282.  The  Statistics  in  Focus  collection  contains  up-to-date  summaries  of  the  main 
results of surveys, studies and analyses. In the field of external trade, these studies 
cover  the  EU  trade  with  its  main  trading  partners  (such  as,  for  example,  USA, 
Japan  or  Latin  America),  trade  in  certain  strategic  goods  (such  as,  for  example, 
high  technology  products  or  energy),  or  trade  of  particular  interest  (such  as  EU 
trade with the candidate countries). 

283.  The Panorama on European Union trade sets out  to  describe the features and 
trends  of  the  EU  external  trade  during  the  period  1988-2001.  It  emphasizes  the 
place of the European Union on world market and analyses its trade flows with its 
main trading partners as well as the goods exchanged. The Panorama also looks 
into  the  trade  between  the  Member  States  and  of  the  euro-zone.  The  trade 
relations between the European Union and the candidate countries are tackled in a 
specific chapter. 

37

 
 
5.3  Data on line 

284.  In  addition  to  the  publications  previously  listed,  aggregated  and  detailed  data 
can be consulted and downloaded from Eurostat website free of charges. The main 
statistical  indicators  are  available  such  as  the  trade  value  by  reporting  country, 
trading  partner  and  product.  Aggregated  data  cover  both  short  and  long  term 
indicators. 

285.  Short term aggregated indicators are disseminated according to the high levels 
of  the  Standard  International  Trade  Classification  (SITC  Rev.  3)  and  the  Broad 
Economic Categories (BEC) for the following indicators: 

-  gross and seasonally adjusted trade value (in million Euro), 
-  unit-value indices, 
-  gross and seasonally adjusted volume indices, 
-  growth rates of trade values and indices, 

Short term indicators are updated on monthly basis at the date of the press release. 
They include all data published in the euro-indicators news release. 

286.  Long  term  aggregated  indicators  are  disseminated  according  to  major  SITC 

groups for the following indicators: 

trade value (in billion Euro), 
shares of Member States in EU and world trade, 
shares of main trading partners in EU trade, 

- 
- 
- 
-  volume indices. 

Long term indicators are updated generally once a year when complete results are 
available for the last reference month. 

287.  Detailed  data  are  disseminated  according  to  the  Harmonized  Commodity 
Description and Coding System (HS2, HS4 and HS6) and the most detailed level 
of the Combined Nomenclature (CN8) for the following indicators: 

- 
- 
- 

trade value (in 1000 Euro), 
trade quantity in 100 kg, 
trade quantity in supplementary units (published in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities relating to the annual revision of the Combined 
Nomenclature) 

Detailed data are updated on monthly basis at the date of the press release.  

288.  In  addition  to  statistics  disseminated  under  the  “External  trade”  theme,  key 
indicators may be found in general domains gathering data coming from different 
themes (Eurostat Yearbook, Euro-indicators, structural indicators, etc). 

5.4  DVD-ROM 

289.  External  trade  statistics  users  can  find  a  selection  of  the  data  transmitted  by  the 
Member  States  in  a  DVD-ROM  which  is  produced  on  a  monthly  basis.  This 
DVD-ROM contains, for the most recent months, data broken down by Combined 
Nomenclature  product  and  intra-  and  extra-EU  partner  country.  It  also  contains 

38

 
 
 
EUROPROMS  database  (data  on  production,  external  trade  and  domestic 
consumption of more than 5000 products). 

290.  The  monthly  COMEXT  DVD-ROM  is  supplemented  by  two  other  DVD-ROMs 
produced on an annual basis. The purpose of these two  DVD-ROMs is to allow 
the extraction of longer time series. 

291.  In addition  to  statistics, the DVD-ROM contains methodological information. In 
particular, there are confidentiality notes allowing the user to identify the products 
for which part of the trade was concealed by one or more Member States. 

292.  The  COMEXT  DVD-ROM  runs  under  Windows  and  offers  a  wide  variety  of 

functions, among which there are: 

• 

interrogation and extraction of data; 

•  creation of files that can be imported into a spreadsheet or a database; 

•  product code search by keywords; 

•  creation  of  aggregates  defined  by  characteristic,  period,  declarant  or 
partner  country  (geographic  and  economic  areas  are  available)  and 
product (SITC and CPA products are available). 

293.  A user manual is available with the DVD-ROM; it can be consulted directly in the 

application or printed out. 

5.5  COMEXT database 

294.  Comext is the Eurostat reference database for external trade. It provides access not 
only  to  both  recent  and  historical  data  from  the  EU  Member  States  but  also  to 
statistics  of  a  significant  number  of  third  countries.  Connection  to  COMEXT  is 
officially granted to the internal users of the Commission and any other European 
institution  or  Community  body.  The  database  is  also  accessible  to  the 
administrations  of  Member  States  belonging  to  the  European  Statistical  System 
and to those Candidate Countries providing statistics to Eurostat. 

295.  External  trade  aggregated  and  detailed  statistics  disseminated  from  Eurostat 
website are compiled from Comext data according to a monthly process. Because 
Comext is a daily update database, data published on the website may differ from 
data stored in Comext in case of recent revisions. 

296.  Additional information is accessible in COMEXT depending on the type of trade 
(intra-  or  extra-EU  trade)  and  flow  (imports  or  exports).  In  particular,  there  is  a 
breakdown  by  sub-heading  of  the  TARIC  (Integrated  Tariff  of  the  European 
Communities) collected for imports from third countries. 

For  extra-EU  imports,  COMEXT  database  users  also  have  at  their  disposal 
information on tariff preferences with, in particular, a distinction between normal 
tariffs, preferences, with suspension or tariff quotas. 

Transport statistics are available for intra- and extra-EU trade. These identify the 
means of transport: by sea, air, road, rail, inland waterway, own propulsion or by 
fixed transport installation. 

39

 
 
 
5.6  Metadata  

297.  Users of trade data, as of any statistics, need to have descriptive and methodological 
notes to help them understand the nature and limitations of the data. It is the purpose 
of this guide to help the general reader in these areas. 

298.  In  addition,  metadata  in  SDDS  format  (base  page  and  summary  methodology)  are 

systematically linked to any data disseminated through the Eurostat website. 

299.  This  guide  does  not  give  full  detail  of  the  methods  used  by  each  Member  State  in 
compiling  their  trade  figures  or  of  the  particular  analyses  that  may  be  available 
nationally. To obtain this information the national authorities listed in Annex 1 can be 
contacted. 

300.  Product nomenclatures and country classification (Geonomenclature) are available at 

the Eurostat’s classification server RAMON. 

301.  A  Quality  Report  providing  indicators  measuring  the  quality  of  trade  statistics  is 
available on Eurostat website (theme “External Trade”). This report is updated yearly. 

302.  The  Eurostat  website  is  a  source  for  some  aggregated  data.  It  also  provides 
information on publications available on particular topics and ways to obtain them. It 
provides  additional  services  for  registered  users.  Some  useful  background 
information, for example, a full account of the evolution of the geonomenclature or 
an up-to-date catalogue of major publications, can be down-loaded from the site.  

5.7  European Statistical Data Support 

303.  Eurostat set up with the members of the ‘European statistical system’ a network of 

support centres, which will exist in nearly all Member States as well as in some 
EFTA countries. Their mission is to provide help and guidance to Internet users of 
European statistical data.The complete details concerning this support network 
can be found on our Internet site: 
 http://epp.eurostat.cec.eu.int/pls/portal/url/PAGE/PGP_DS_SUPPORT 

304.  A list of worldwide sales outlets is available at the:  

Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 
2, rue Mercier – L-2985 Luxembourg 
URL: http://publications.eu.int  
E-mail: info-info-opoce@cec.eu.int  

40

 
 
 
Annex 1:   National Authorities responsible for the compilation of foreign trade 

Statistics 

Country 

BE  Belgium 

CZ  Czech 

Republic 

DK  Denmark 

DE  Germany 

EE  Estonia 

EL  Greece 

ES 

Spain 

FR  France 

IE 

Ireland 

National Authority  

National Bank of Belgium 
Boulevard de Berlaimont, 14 
B – 1000 BRUSSELS 
E-mail: information.foreigntrade@nbb.be 
Tel. : +32 2 221 52 10 
http://www.intrastat.be/
Czech Statistical office 
Na padesatem 81 
CZ - 100 82 PRAHA 10 
Tel. +420 274 052 111 
http://www.czso.cz/eng/redakce.nsf/i/information_services
Danmarks Statistik 
Sejrogade, 11 
Postboks 2550 
DK-2100 KOBENHAVN 
Tel. :+45 3917 3917 
http://www.dst.dk/HomeUK.aspx
Statistisches Bundesamt (DESTATIS) 
Gustav-Stresemann-Ring, 11 
Postfgach 5528 
D-65189 WIESBADEN 
+49 611 75-1 
http://www.destatis.de/e_home.htm
Statistical office of Estonia 
Endla 15, 
EST - 15174 TALLINN 
Tel: +372 6259 300 
http://www.stat.ee/
National Statistical Service of Greece 
Lycourgou Street, 14-16 
GR-ATHENS 101 66 
Tel.: +30 210 3289 396 
http://www.statistics.gr/Main_eng.asp
Departamento de Aduanas - Agencia Estatal de Administracion Tributaria 
Avda. Del Llano Catellano, 17 
E - 28071 MADRID 
Tel. : +34 91 728 97 61 
http://www.aeat.es/
Direction Générale des Douanes et  Droits Indirects 
Département des statistiques et des études économiques 
rue de la Tour des Dames, 8 
F - 75436 PARIS CEDEX 09 
Tel.: +33 1 5507 4595 
http://www.douane.gouv.fr/
Central Statistical Office 
Ardee Road 
Rathmines 
IRL - DUBLIN 
Tel.: +353-1-498 4000 
http://www.cso.ie/

41

 
 
 
 
 
 
Country 

IT 

Italy 

CY  Cyprus 

LV  Latvia 

LT  Lithuania 

National Authority  

Istituto Nazionale di Statistica 
Via Cesare Balbo, 16 
I - 00184 ROMA 
Tel.: +39 06 4673 4140  
http://www.istat.it/
Statistical Service of Cyprus (CYSTAT) 
Michalakis Karaolis street 
CY – 1444 NICOSIA 
Tel:  +357 22602205 
http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/index_en/index_en?OpenDocument
Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia 
1, Lacpesa Street 
 LV-1301 RIGA  
Tel:+371 73 66 850 
http://www.csb.lv/avidus.cfm
Statistics Lithuania 
Foreign trade Statistics Section,  
29, Gedimino Av.  
LT - 2726 VILNIUS  
Tel.: +370 5 268 00 29 
http://www.lbank.lt/Eng/Statistics/

HU  Hungary 

LU  Luxembourg  Service Central de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques 
Centre Administratif Pierre Werner 
13, rue Erasme 
L-1468 LUXEMBOURG 
B. P. 304 L-2013 LUXEMBOURG 
Tel. :+352 478 4252  
http://statec.gouvernement.lu/
Hungarian Central Statistical Office 
Keleti Karoly u. 5-7 
HU – 1024 BUDAPEST 
Tel: +361 345 6000 
http://www.ksh.hu
National Statistical Office 
Lascaris 
M – VALLETTA CMR 02 
Tel: +356 21 22 32 21-5 
http://www.nso.gov.mt

MT  Malta 

NL  Netherlands  Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek  

AT  Austria 

PL  Poland 

Buitenlandse Handel 
Kloosterweg 1 
PO Box 4481 
NL-6401 CZ HEERLEN 
Tel: +31 45 570 6000 
http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/
Statistik Österreich 
Bundesanstalt des öffentlichen Rechts 
Guglgasse 13 
A-1110 WIEN 
Tel: +43 1 711 28 
http://www.statistik.at

Central Statistical Office 
Al. Niepodlegosci 208 
PL - 00925 WARSAW 
Tel: +48 22 60 83 453 
http://www.stat.gov.pl/english/index.htm

42

 
 
 
Country 

PT  Portugal 

SI 

Slovenia 

SK  Slovakia 

FI 

Finland 

SE 

Sweden 

UK  United 

Kingdom 

National Authority  

Instituto Nacional de Estatistica 
Avenida Antonio José de Almeida, 2 
P-1000-043 LISBOA 
Tel: +351 21 842 6100 
http://www.ine.pt/index_eng.htm
Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia 
Vozarski pot 12,  
SI - 1000 LJUBLJANA 
Tel: +386 1 241 51 04 
http://www.sigov.si/zrs
Slovak Statistical Office 
Mileticova 3,  
SK – 824 67 BRATISLAVA  
Tel: +421 2 55 42 58 02 
http://www.statistics.sk/
TULLI - National Board of Customs 
P.O. Box 512 
FIN-00101 HELSINKI 
Tel: +358 20 49 1 
http://www.tulli.fi/en/03_Foreign_trade_statistics/index.jsp
Statistics Sweden – ES/UH 
Karlavägen 100 
P.O. Box 24300 
S -10451 STOCKHOLM 
Tel: +46 8 5069 4000 
http://www.scb.se
HM Customs & Excise - Statistics and analysis of Trade unit 
Alexander House 
21, Victoria Avenue 
SOUTHEND-ON-SEA 
Essex SS99 1AA 
Tel: +44 1702 36 1 
http://www.hmce.gov.uk/business/importing/importing.htm

43

 
 
 
 
 
 
Annex 2: 

Scheme of statistical recording of imports (extra-EU trade) and arrivals (intra-EU trade) 

Goods entering the statistical territory of a Member State are recorded: 

1. immediately released for 
free circulation 
(goods intended for consumption in the 
importing Member State or for dispatch to 
another Member State) 
1.1 from another Member State where 
they were placed under a procedure for 
inward processing or processing under 
customs control 

as non-community goods1

2. immediately placed under a 
customs procedure for inward 
processing or processing under 
customs control 

2.1 from another Member State where they 
were placed under a procedure for inward 
processing or processing under customs 
control 

1.2 case other than that referred to in 1.1 2   2.2 case other than that referred to in 2.1

2

3. immediately 
placed under a 
warehouse 
or 

4. immediately 
placed under a 
transit 
procedure 

free zone 
or 
temporary 
admission 
procedure 

as community goods1

5. arriving from another Member 
State: 
(cid:31) 
Member State of arrival 

not in direct or interrupted transit in the 

in direct or interrupted transit in the 

(cid:31) 
Member State of arrival but leaving that Member 
State following export formalities outside Community 
statistical territory 

6. following case 2: 
released for free circulation or 
again placed under a customs 
procedure for inward processing or 
processing under customs control in 
the same Member State 

7. following cases 3 or 4: 
released for free circulation or 
placed under a customs 
procedure for inward processing 
or processing under customs 
control in the same Member State

Are included in extra-EU trade statistics3 , the goods referred to in 1.2., 2.2. and 7 (in bold/light grey) 
Are included in intra-EU trade statistics3, the goods referred  to in 1.1, 2.1 and 5 (in bold/dark grey)

1 The concepts of  ‘Community’ and ‘non-Community’ goods depend, not on the origin of goods, but on their customs status. 
2 Mainly goods coming directly from a non-member country. 
3 By way of derogation from the rules set out in this table, the criterion for recording of boats and aircrafts in the statistics of intra-Community or extra-Community trade is the transfer of property between 
residents and non-residents. 

44

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
Annex 3: 

Scheme of statistical recording of exports (extra-EU trade) and dispatches (intra-EU trade) 

Goods leaving the statistical territory of a Member State are recorded: 

3. dispatched to another 
Member State 

4. exported to a non-member 
country 

5. dispatched to another 
Member State5 and: 

as community goods1

1. final export to a non-
member country 

1.1  following a customs procedure 
for inward processing or processing 
under customs control 

as non-community goods4
2. exported with 
provisional destination 
in a non-member 
country under an 
outward processing 
procedure 
2.1  following customs procedure 
for inward processing or 
processing under customs control 

1.2  following a warehouse/free-zone 
or temporary admission procedure 

2.2  following a warehouse/free-
zone or temporary admission 
procedure 

3.2  following a warehouse/free-zone or 
temporary admission procedure 
3.3  under a transit procedure 

Are included in extra-EU trade statistics7, the goods referred to in 1.1, 2.1, 4.1 et 4.2 (in bold/light grey) 
Are included in intra-EU trade statistics4, the goods referred to in 3.1 and 5 (in bold/dark grey) 

3.1  following a customs procedure for 
inward processing or processing under 
customs control 

4.1  final export 

•  not in direct or interrupted transit 
in the Member State of dispatch 

4.2  export under a customs procedure 
for outward processing 
4.3  temporary export for later return 
without modification 

4.4  in transit

6

in direct or interrupted transit in 

• 
the Member State of dispatch, but 
previously put into free circulation in 
that Member State as non-Community 
goods 

4 The concepts of  ‘Community’ and ‘non-Community’ goods depend, not on the origin of goods, but on their customs status. 
5 Including goods which will, in the Member State of destination, be the subject of a customs declaration for export to a non-member country. 
6 Goods from another Member State, in which the export declaration was drawn up. 
7 By way of derogation from the rules set out in this table, the criterion for recording of boats and aircrafts in the statistics of intra-Community or extra-Community trade is the transfer of property between 
residents and non-residents. 

45

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
 
Annex 4: 

Exclusions 

1. 

2. 

3. 
a) 
b) 
c) 
d) 
e) 

f) 

g) 

h) 

i) 

j) 

k) 

Sub-section 2.3 discussed categories of goods explicitly excluded by EU 
legislation from the compilation of statistics. Lists of these exclusions or 
exemptions are given in the respective (amended) Annex 1 of Commission 
Regulation (EC) No 1917/2000 of 9 September 2000 for extra-EU trade and of 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1982/2004 for intra-EU trade. 
The lists of excluded categories in the two regulations are not precisely identical 
but have most features in common.  
The following is in general exempted: 

Means of payment which are legal tender and securities 
Monetary gold 
Emergency aid for disaster areas 
Goods benefiting from diplomatic, consular or similar immunity 
Goods for and following temporary use, provided all the following conditions 
are met: 
1. 
2. 
3. 

No processing is planned or made,  
The expected duration of the temporary use is not longer than 24 months,  
to  be  declared  as  a 
For  Intra:  The  dispatch/arrival  has  not 

delivery/acquisition for VAT purposes. 

Advertising material 
Commercial samples 

Goods  used  as  carriers  of  information  such  as  floppy  disks,  computer  tapes, 
films, plans, audio and videotapes, CD-ROMs with stored computer software, 
where developed to order for a particular client or where they are not subject 
of  a  commercial  transaction,  as  well  as  complements  for  a  previous  delivery 
e.g. updates for which the consignee is not invoiced. 
Provided that they are not the subject of a commercial transaction 
1. 
2. 
Goods  for  and  after  repair  and  the  incorporated  replacement  parts.  A  repair 
entails  the  restoration  of  goods  to  their  original  function  or  condition.  The 
objective  of  the  operation  is  simply  to  maintain  the  goods  in  working  order; 
this  may  involve  some  rebuilding  or  enhancements  but  does  not  change  the 
nature of the goods in any way 
Goods  dispatched  to  national  armed  forces  stationed  outside  the  statistical 
territory  and  goods  received  from  another  Member  State  which  had  been 
conveyed outside the statistical territory by the national armed forces, as well 
as goods acquired or disposed of on the statistical territory of a Member State 
by the armed forces of another Member State which are stationed there 
Spacecraft  launchers,  on  dispatch  and  on  arrival  pending  launching  into 
space, and at the time of launching into space 
For intra: Sales of new means of transport by natural or legal persons liable to 
VAT to private individuals from other Member States  

46

 
 
Annex 5: 

Alphanumeric Codes 

1. 

2. 

Alphanumeric  codes  are  used  in  intra-  and  extra-EU  trade  statistics  to  identify 
confidential or adjusted data and trade for which a breakdown of the results at a 
detailed level of the product classification is not possible. This usually concerns 
goods for which some Member States allow a simplified declaration to be made. 

In principle, the results relating to the alphanumeric codes are included under the 
relevant chapter of the CN (e.g.: 63III000 Selections of goods of Chapter 63). If 
the chapter cannot be identified, the results are included under Chapter 99 (e.g.: 
99III000 Selections of goods not specified elsewhere). 

Code 99AAA000: Intra-EU trade involving transactions falling below the ‘small scale 
transaction threshold’ (See 2.9.2) or residual products collected under the simplification 
scheme. 

Codes containing the letter B: Deliveries of products for the crew and passengers, and 
for the operation of the engines, machines and other equipment of vessels or aircraft.  

Codes containing the letter C: Corrections due to the reporting of erroneous codes 

Codes  containing  the  letter  E  (closed  in  2005):  Selections  of  goods,  for  which  a 
simplified declaration applies 

Codes  containing  the  letter  F:  Goods  destined  for  the  operators  of  the  offshore 
installation  or  for  the  operation  of  the  engines,  machines  and  other  equipment  of  the 
offshore installation  

Codes containing the letter I: Components of industrial plant, for which a simplified 
declaration  applies.  ‘Industrial  plant’  is  a  combination  of  machines,  apparatus, 
appliances,  equipment,  instruments  and  materials  which  together  make  up  large-scale, 
stationary units producing goods or providing services.  

Codes  containing  the  letter  M:  Adjustments  reported  by  Member  States  on  trade 
broken down at Chapter level only (e.g. trade below the exemption threshold). 

Codes  containing  the  letter  P:  Goods  transported  by  post,  for  which  a  simplified 
declaration applies 

Code 99RRR100: Returned goods, for which a simplified declaration applies 

Codes containing the letter S: Confidential data. (See 2.16 and 4.4)  

Codes  containing  the  letter  T  (closed):  Foodstuffs,  drinks  and  tobacco,  for  which  a 
simplified declaration applies 

Code  87VVV000:  Motor  vehicle  components,  for  which  a  simplified  declaration 
applies 

Code 88WWW000: Aircraft components, for which a simplified declaration applies 

Code  99YYY000:  Adjustments  reported  by  Member  States  (e.g.  trade  below  the 
exemption threshold which is reported only on the total level). (See 4.2.) 

47

 
 
 
Annex 6: 
Eurostat by Member States 

Conceptual differences between national figures and those sent to 

Member 
State  

Belgium 

Czech 
Republic 

Denmark 

Germany 

Estonia 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Ireland 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Luxembourg 

Hungary 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Poland 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovak 
Republic 

Finland 

Sweden 

United 
Kingdom 

Special trade 
system is not 
used for 
national data   

Exemption of 
indirect trade; 
goods in ‘quasi 
transit’ 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 
* 

* 
* 
* 
* 

* 

Country of origin is 
used on national 
level for arrivals 

Repair trade 
included in 
national data 

* 

* 
a)

* 
* 
* 

a)

* 
* 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 
b)

* 

* 

b)

b)

* 

a) both information available, publishing according to the country of consignment 
b) for Extra-EU trade only

48

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Annex 7: 

Overview on external trade products 

Title 

Contents 

Reference periods 

Update 

Press release 

External trade Euroindicators: trade flows and balances of Euro 
zone and EU 

Monthly Bulletin 

Short time series on EU trade with main partner countries and by 
main product groups 

Last month according to 
EU regulations 
(including estimates for 
missing data) 
Up to the last month 
available 

Statistical Yearbook 

Long time series on EU trade with main partner countries and by 
main product groups 

As from 1958 and up to 
the last year available 

Examples:  
- The European trade of transport material 
- External trade of Western Balkan countries 
- Trade in goods with Candidate Countries by mode of transport 
- Extra-EU trade of Member States by mode of transport 

Up to the last year 
available 

Analysis of EU trade on the basis of charts and tables 

1988-2001 

Media 
support 

Pdf 
(EN, FR and 
DE) 

Pdf (EN 
only) 

Pdf (EN 
only) 

Pdf and paper 
(EN, FR and 
DE) 

Pdf (En, FR 
and DE) 
Paper (EN) 

Monthly

Monthly

Annual 

- 

- 

Short term aggregated data 
EU and Euro zone indicators including raw and seasonally 
adjusted figures and indices 
Long term aggregated data 
EU indicators including raw figures and indices (published in 
Eurostat Yearbook) 

Detailed data (Easy Comext) 
EU and Euro zone statistics detailed by products (according to 
CN8/HS and SITC classifications)  

As from 1995 up to the 
last month available 

Monthly

As from 1990 up to the 
last year available 

As from 1995 up to the 
last month available 

Annual 

Database 

Monthly

49

Statistics in Focus 

Panorama of EU 
trade 

Data on line 

 
 
 
 
 
Title 

Contents 

Reference periods 

Update 

Media 
support 

DVD 

Last 36 months 
(Monthly from 2003 or 
annual from 1995) 
Historical data from 
1988 
Historical data from 
1988 

Monthly

Monthly

Annual 

Data since 1998 

Monthly

Up to the last month 
available 

Up to the last month 
available 

Up to the last period 
available 
Up to the last period 
available 

Daily 

Database 

Intra- and extra-EU trade - Detailed statistics by partner 
countries and NC8 codes 
Monthly DVD-ROM - EU Member States 
(including EUROPROMS data according to Prodcom 
classification) 

DVD-ROMs 

Supplement 1 (2 DVD) - EU Member States 

Supplement 2 (1 DVD) - EU Member States 

Supplement 3 (2 DVD) - Extra-EU trade by transport mode - 
Detailed statistics of the EU MS by partner countries and NSTR 
codes  
EU Member States 
Detailed statistics on trade in goods according to EU concept 
Candidate countries 
Detailed statistics on trade in goods harmonised with EU 
concept from January 1999 
MEDA, TACIS and CARDS countries 
Data exchanges based on cooperation programmes 

International databases : FMI-DOTS and UN-COMTRADE 

COMEXT database 

50