Quality description : Concentration of international trade in goods by enterprise

1. Relevance of statistics

1.1 Content and use of statistics

The concentration of international trade in goods by enterprise describes the structure of import and export from the viewpoint of enterprises. The concentration is presented in the statistics according to products by activities (CPA), industries (NACE), trading partners, and geographical zones.

The data on the branches of industry of the enterprises are obtained from the business register of the Statistics Finland.

1.2 Central concepts and classifications

Information on the internal trade i.e. the trade between the EU Member States is collected through the Intrastat system from the operators who are obliged to provide information. The statistics on the external trade i.e. the trade with countries not in the EU are obtained from the customs clearance system.

The compilation of statistics on commodities is based on the Combined Nomenclature CN of the EU. The export statistics are gathered as per the countries of destination according to the FOB (free on board) value, and the import statistics as per the countries of origin according to the CIF (cost, insurance, and freight) value. The country of origin is the country in which the goods were produced or in which the latest economically important stage of production took place. The packaging of the commodities is not regarded as production. As for export, the country of destination is the last country known at the time of the export of the commodities from Finland, either direct or via another country.

In the statistics on the concentration of international trade in goods by enterprise, the CN-based statistical material has also been combined according to the following classifications:

• Classification of Products by Activities (CPA)
• Classification of the European Community according to industries i.e. Nomenclature générale des activités économiques dans les Communautés européennes (NACE 2002). The NACE category data of each enterprise are composed according to its main branch of industry.

1.3 Acts and Decrees

International trade statistics are based on the legislation of the European Community as well as the national Statistics Act (280/4) and Customs Act (304/2016). Within the EU legislation, the compilation of statistics is steered by the Basic Regulation on internal trade statistics (EC, 638/2004), Basic Regulation on external trade statistics (EC, 1172/95), and the respective implementation provisions.

The country classification is based on the Commission Regulation (EC, 1106/2012) on the country classification of the statistics on the Community external trade and the trade between the Member States. The country codes comply with those of the ISO/DIS 3166 standard of the International Organization for Standardization.

2. Method description

The information on the trade carried on by Finland with the other EU Member States is collected from the compulsory statistical declarations provided monthly by importers and exporters through the Intrastat system of the internal trade. The information on the trade between Finland and Third Countries is obtained from customs declarations, which have to be submitted on every import and export consignment. The data on both internal and external trade are put together to form statistics on the international trade of Finland.

The Finnish Customs produces the data for the statistics on the concentration of international trade in goods by enterprise through combining the material on international trade with the business register material of the Statistics Finland.

3. Correctness and accuracy of information

The survey on the concentration of international trade in goods by enterprise is produced on the basis of the definite statistics on international trade.

4. Up-to-dateness and timeliness of published data

The accurate publication date is announced on the web site of the Finnish Customs about one week earlier.

5. Availability and transparency / clarity of data

The statistics on the concentration of international trade in goods by enterprise is published at the web site of the Finnish Customs on the dates announced in advance. It can also be ordered to be transmitted by e-mail.

Further information on the statistics on international trade is available from the web site of Customs -> International trade statistics. This site comprises e.g. the principles of compiling international trade statistics as well as all the statistics and surveys on the international trade of Finland published by the Finnish Customs.

Further information is also available from the Statistics Service at:
- telephone: +358 295 5200 (exchange) or +358 295 52335 (Statistics Service direct)
- e-mail: statistics[at]tulli.fi
- Internet: www.tulli.fi
- Statistical database Uljas: uljas.tulli.fi

6. Comparability of statistics

The survey on the concentration of international trade in goods by enterprise was first produced in 2005.

7. Clarity and consistency / coherence

Beside international trade statistics, statistical information on international trade is available from the National Accounts and the Balance of Trade statistics of the Statistics Finland.

Statistical information on the international trade of the EU Member States is available from the publications, web site, and Easy Comext database of Eurostat. This database can be consulted through Internet free of charge.

The dissimilarities of the concepts and definitions applied by the EU Member States and their most important trading partners may affect the comparability of statistics.