Trade monitoring
Specific notes for selected economies
Beginning with the 2002 report EU data compiled according to national statistical practices have been replaced starting 1993 with data compiled by Eurostat in accordance with EU legislation. The concepts and definitions adopted by the EU are in line with the United Nations’ International Trade Statistics Concepts and Definitions Series M N° 52 Revision 2. As a result the conceptual differences between EU member states’ data have been substantially reduced. Moreover for the EU as a whole Eurostat data are more timely than the previous source thus reducing substantially the amount of estimation included in the EU aggregate.
Definitions and methodology
Two systems of recording merchandise exports and imports are in common use. They are referred to as general trade and special trade and differ mainly in the way warehoused and re-exported goods are treated. General trade figures are larger than the corresponding special trade figures because the latter exclude certain trade flows such as goods shipped through bonded warehouses.
Acknowledgements
This publication has been prepared under the general direction of Hubert Escaith Chief Statistician. Andreas Maurer was responsible for the coordination of the statistical report and Vuddha Meach supervised the overall table chart and map production with the assistance of Jonathan Enrique Ford Xuexue Luo and Ying Yan. The statistical research and data compilation were conducted by Barbara d’Andrea-Adrian Christophe Degain Joscelyn Magdeleine Yann Marcus Coleman Nee Ninez Piezas-Jerbi and Bekele Tamenu.
Composition of geographical and economic groupings
This chapter details the methodology and sources for the statistics used in International Trade Statistics 2008.