Croatian Bureau of Statistics

External Trade in Goods Statistics Department

Ilica 3, 10 000 Zagreb; Croatia

The main objective of the trade in goods statistics by enterprise characteristics (TEC) is to bridge two major statistical domains which have traditionally been compiled and used separately, business statistics and international trade in goods statistics (ITGS). Specifically, this new domain was created to answer questions such as:

• What kind of businesses are behind the trade flows of goods?
• What is the contribution of a particular activity sector to trade?
• What is the share of small and medium-sized enterprises to total trade?
• What is the share of enterprises that trade with a certain partner country and the amount of trade value they account for?

For this purpose, the trade in goods between countries is broken down by economic activity, size-class of enterprises, trade concentration, geographical diversification and products traded. The new information is used to carry out more sophisticated kinds of analysis, e.g. to evaluate the role of European companies in the context of globalisation or to assess the impact of international trade in goods on employment, production and value added, essential in a globalised world where economies are increasingly interconnected.

Available datasets

TEC data are grouped into ten datasets, each one focusing on a specific aspect. Mandatory datasets 1 to 10 are available for Croatia:

1. Trade by activity sector — This table gives more detailed information about the contribution of economic activities to total trade. Data are requested at a more detailed level of the activity sector than in other tables, but without other characteristics.

2. Trade by activity and size class of number of employees — This table aims to show the contribution of economic activities and size of an enterprise (in terms of number of employees) to total trade. They can be used to analyse the impact of international trade in goods on employment and to estimate the importance of small- and mediumsized enterprises (classes ELT10, E10T49 and E50T249) for trade.

3. Trade by activity and additional geographical breakdown — This table shows the number of enterprises trading with certain partner countries or country zones and the value these trading accounts for. It aims to identify the most common exports or imports markets.

4. Trade by size class of employees and additional geographical breakdown— This table aims to give insights on the internationalisation of small- and medium-sized enterprises (classes ELT10, E10T49 and E50T249). It complements breakdown 3 by applying the same detailed breakdown of partner countries but categorises enterprises by size classes instead of activity sectors.

5. Trade by activity and number of COUNTERPART_AREA countries — This table aims to show the geographic diversity of the markets. Specifically, it shows the number of countries the goods are imported from or exported to.

6. Activity and concentration of trade — International trade in goods is usually concentrated in a few enterprises. This table aims to show how much of the total trade is accounted for by the top 5, 10, 20, etc. enterprises.

7. Activity and type of trader — This table serves to provide information on how traders are involved in international trade in goods. It shows the number of enterprises trading within only one flow – exports or imports – or in both flows and the trade value these enterprises account for.

8. Activity and exports intensity — This table shows the importance of foreign markets, measured in terms of ratio of exports with turnover. It gives insights on the heterogeneity of enterprises by categorising all trading enterprises into more foreign-market oriented (with high exports intensity) and more domestic-market intensive (with lower exports intensity).

9. Trade by activity and type of control — This table aims to show the contribution of economic activities and type of ownership to total trade. It can be used to analyse the impact of globalisation on international trade and to estimate the importance of multinational enterprises for trade.

10. Trade by activity and commodity — This table aims to show which sectors of the economy were involved in the trade of each product group. It allocates the trade of each commodity to the activity of the trading enterprise.

Classification of economic activities

Economic activities are classified according to the statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 2). NACE Rev. 2 is based on the fourth revision of the United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC Rev. 4). Within the international trade in goods statistics, the NACE classification refers to the economic activity of enterprises that are active in international trade in goods.

Product classification

As the TEC domain aims to categorise trade flows according to economic activities, product classifications which are based on the industrial origin of the goods are more suitable for analysis than classifications based on material of goods. For this reason, the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA) is used as the product classification in TEC. CPA 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, the NACE Rev. 2. CPA version 2008 is used for TEC data relating to the reference years 2012-2015. CPA version 2.1 is used since 2016 as reference year.

Country classification

Except for the cases listed below, the reporting and partner countries are classified according to 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. An alpha-2 coding applies, which means that each country is identified with a two-letter alphabetical code. See the publication Geonomenclature applicable to European statistics on international trade in goods for more information. Exceptions: code CN_X_HK instead of CN for China (except Hong Kong); code UK instead of GB for United Kingdom; code EL instead of GR for Greece.

All classifications and correspondence tables are available on Eurostats metadata server RAMON

TEC data cover all activity sectors, from sections A to U of the NACE Rev. 2 classification.

Trade value

The value of traded goods is calculated at the national frontier, on a FOB basis (free on board) for exports and a CIF (cost, insurance, freight) basis for imports. Hence, only incidental expenses (freight, insurance) are included and they are incurred for:

• exports in the part of the journey located on the territory of the country where the goods are exported from;
• imports in the part of the journey located outside the territory of the country where the goods are imported to.

Number of enterprises

The number of enterprises consists of a count of the number of enterprises involved in trade during at least a part of the reference period. For intra-EU trade, VAT data are used to identify the smallest traders (and to estimate their trade value), which are exempted from Intrastat reporting. These traders account for a limited share of the trade value. In line with the legal requirements, this share should not exceed 3 % of the total value of the intra-EU exports and 7 % of the total value of the intra-EU imports. However in terms of number of enterprises the smallest enterprises below threshold trade make the majority.

Partner country

Trade flows are broken down by partner country.

• For exports it is the country of destination of the goods. That is the last country to which it is known that, at the time of export, the goods are to be delivered.
• For imports, the definition of the partner country differs between Intrastat and Extrastat. For extra-EU imports it is the country of origin of the goods; for intra-EU imports it is the country (EU Member State) of consignment of goods.

Product

The product is the outcome of economic activity and the generic term used for goods and services.

Product classifications are designed to categorise goods and services that have common characteristics. They provide the basis for preparing statistics on the production, consumption, international trade and distributive trade. However, the scope of TEC is limited to the trade in goods.

Economic activity

The economic activity consists in offering goods and services on a given market. An activity is characterised by an input of products, a production process and an output of products. In other words, an economic activity is said to take place when resources such as equipment, labour, manufacturing techniques, information networks or products are combined, leading to the creation of specific goods or services.

Classifications of economic activities are designed to categorise data that can be related to the unit of activity. They provide the basis for preparing statistics of output, the various inputs to the production process, capital formation and the financial transactions of such units. Economic activities are classified according to NACE, the classification used to classify economic entities (enterprises, local units and similar statistical units). Within the international trade statistics, the NACE classification refers to the economic activity of traders, i.e. enterprises that are active in international trade.

Number of employees

The number of employees refers to the number of those persons who work for an employer and who have a contract of employment and receive compensation in the form of wages, salaries, fees, gratuities, piecework pay or remuneration in kind. A worker is considered to be a wage or salary earner of a particular unit if he receives a wage or salary from the unit regardless of where the work is done (in or outside the production unit).

The number of employees is a mandatory variable to be recorded in the business registers for each enterprise and local unit. According to the Business Register Regulation, the intention is to use the situation at the end of the year. However, as the end date approach is not harmonised the annual average can also be used as reference.

Type of traders

In the context of the TEC data, the type of trader specifies the type of trade activity of the enterprise. It indicates whether the enterprise is involved only in exports or only imports or trade in both flows.

The type of trader aims to describe the heterogeneity of enterprises according to their involvement in trade.

Enterprise

The statistical population should comprise all the enterprises involved in intra- and extra-EU trade flows. However, in practice, the linkage between the Trade Register and the Business Register is not systematically straightforward as there may be more complicated linkages or the linkage may not always provide expected outcomes. This relates in particular to the following cases:

• Intra-annual business demography changes;
• Large and complex businesses;
• Incomplete business register data; and
• VAT-groups.

The reference population used in the compilation of TEC datasets relates to traders who have reported trade transactions under a valid ID number and were successfully matched with the Business Register. This means that the enterprise characteristics reported in the TEC datasets refer only to a part of total trade.

In the case of Croatia,

- are out of scope: missing, delayed and incomplete records for extra-EU trade.

- are reported under unknown trade in TEC data:

• Adjustments for missing trade (trade below threshold and non-response in intra-EU trade);
• Trade carried out by non-resident traders as such traders cannot be associated to an enterprise via the national Business Register.

Croatia.

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

From 2012 as reference year.

TEC data disseminated at national level

From 2014 as reference year

Not applicable.

• Trade value in thousands of euros
• Number of enterprises

The reference period is the same as for monthly trade in goods statistics. It should be the calendar month of export respectively that of import of the goods. However, in practice the reference period is in general:

• the calendar month during which the customs declaration is accepted by the national authorities for extra-EU trade; and
• the calendar month during which VAT becomes chargeable on intra-EU acquisitions for intra-EU trade.

General statistical legislation

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European statistics

Intra-EU trade legislation (or Intrastat)

• Regulation (EC) No. 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Commission Implementing Regulation No. 2020/1197

Extra-EU trade legislation (or Extrastat)

• Regulation (EC) No. 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Commission Implementing Regulation No. 2020/1197 and No. 2021/1225 and the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1704

Business Registers legislation

• Regulation (EC) No. 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Commission Implementing Regulation No. 2020/1197

All regulations relevant for the European statistics on international trade in goods can be found in the publication Legislation on European statistics on international trade in goods or consulted from the ‘Legislation’ page of the ‘International trade in goods’ section on Eurostat website. All legal texts are also accessible online on Eur-Lex.

Not applicable.

Confidentiality principles applied for all official statistical data provided by Croatian Bureau of Statistics as well as Eurostat recommendations regarding confidentiality policy for TEC data.

• Regulation Nos: 223/2009 and 517/2013;
• Managing statistical confidentiality and microdata access (UN edition); and
• The Croatian Official Statistics Act (NN, No. 25/20)

Confidentiality principles applied for all official statistical data provided by Croatian Bureau of Statistics as well as Eurostat recommendations regarding confidentiality policy for TEC data.

Primary and secondary confidentiality.

TEC data disseminated at national level

It is decided the data set in question is to be published once a year (on an annual basis) and this kind of information is also available at the CBS' official website (https://dzs.gov.hr/en), by Calendar of Statistical Data Issues and by Publishing Programme.

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

See item 8.1 ‘Release calendar’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’ for more details.

https://podaci.dzs.hr/en

TEC data disseminated at national level

This kind of information is available at the CBS' official website (https://dzs.gov.hr/en), by Calendar of Statistical Data Issues and by Publishing Programme.

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

See item 8.3 ‘Release policy - user access’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’ for more details.

Statistics by enterprise characteristics are updated once a year with a new reference year. Historical data are exceptionally revised.

No news release

TEC data disseminated at national level

Statistics in Line, available at the CBS' official website (https://podaci.dzs.hr/en), comprises time series from 2014 afterwards.

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

See item 10.2 ‘Dissemination format - Publications’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

TEC data disseminated at national level

Not available

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

See item 10.3 ‘Dissemination format - online database’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

Not available.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not available.

TEC data disseminated at national level

Important methodological papers, summary documents and other important handbooks are considered to be internal documents of the CBS – used only internal, and the shorter version of methodology applied in production of TEC data is published along with the data set in question.

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

See item 10.6 ‘Documentation on methodology’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

100%

TEC data disseminated at national level

Not applicable

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

See item 10.7 ‘Quality management - documentation’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

In order to establish a comprehensive system of quality, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics applies the model of Total Quality Management, which also contains the Code of Practice of European Statistics. This model offers a possibility of continuous improvement for each business process. It focuses not only on products and services, but also on users and their satisfaction, the active participation of employees, long-term business success and social benefit. The communication is recognised as a key element of all statistical processes that affect the business success. (https://dzs.gov.hr/en)

See item 11.2 ‘Quality management - assessment’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

The main users are ministries and government bodies, Croatian Chamber of Economy, financial institutions (Croatian National Bank, commercial banks), economic analysts, the media, researches and students, entrepreneurs, international organisations (Eurostat, UNSD, IMF).

Not applicable

See item 12.3 ‘Completeness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

See document TEC Quality indicators

See item 13.1 ‘Accuracy - overall’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

Not applicable.

Neither the international trade in goods statistics, nor the business registers are affected by errors related to sample surveys.

Not applicable.

See item 13.3 ‘Non-sampling error’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See item 13.3.3 of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’

See document TEC Quality indicators

See document TEC Quality indicators

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See item 14.1 ‘Timeliness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

See document TEC Quality indicators

Not applicable.

See item 14.2 ‘Punctuality’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

See document TEC Quality indicators

See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

Not applicable.

Data are comparable since 2014.

The length of comparable time series is 6 years.

See item 15.3 ‘Coherence - cross domain’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See item 15.4 ‘Coherence - internal’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

CBS doesn't have a summary of cost regarding production of TEC data.

CBS doesn't have revision policy regarding TEC data, which are compiled on the basis of final annual data. Revisions occur only on an ad hoc base, i.e. if requested by Eurostat.

Not applicable

Not applicable.

TEC data are based on Intrastat forms and SADs (Single Administrative Documents).

The Statistical Business Register is also used when compiling TEC data; no other administrative register (e.g. Register of ships) is used. The Business Register refers to the whole reference year and is updated on a monthly basis.

Intra-EU trade and Extra-EU trade

Monthly

Business Register

Monthly

TEC data

Annual

Intrastat system in Croatia is e-business system within the Customs administration, which implements the electronic document interchange between the economic operators and the Customs. The Intrastat report (Intrastat Form) is submitted to the Intrastat system exclusively by electronic data exchange via the web application CIWS - Croatian Intrastat Web Service. 

Extrastat data – Customs Administration System of the Republic of Croatia (HRAIS and ECS systems).

Intrastat

• Manual selecting of erroneous items in Excel based on comparison of UV (unit value) and comparison with values in the previous months for the same PSI;
• Monitoring and control of goods with strategic importance and highest value (ships and aircraft, petroleum oils, medicaments, motor vehicles, electrical energy, wood, etc.).

Extrastat

• Control of the nature of transaction in terms of exclusion of repairs from data processing;
• Monitoring and control of goods with strategic importance and highest value (ships and aircraft, petroleum oils, medicaments, motor vehicles, electrical energy, wood etc.).
• Checks and data control are obtained directly from business entities.

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat have passed the following quality checks:

• Intra-dataset checks: completeness of each dataset and uniqueness of the records, validity of the codes, validity of code combinations across the different dimensions, inter-record consistency checks;
• Inter-dataset checks: consistency of trade values and numbers of enterprises related to similar combinations across the datasets;
• Intra-domain check: check of the coherence between trade values published in TEC datasets and trade values coming from aggregated and detailed trade in goods data.

See the section ‘Data validation’ of the European business statistics compilers’ manual for international trade in goods statistics – trade by enterprise characteristics for information on the main validation rules implemented.

All operations to derive TEC data are integrated in Intrastat SIS (Statistical Intrastat System) Database:

• Generating datasets and
• Application of data confidentiality.

No imputation made by Eurostat

The trade in goods data used to compile the TEC data include adjustments for missing trade (trade below threshold and non-response in intra-EU trade).

HR Extrastat data refers only to data from SAD's; therefore adjustments for missing, delayed and incomplete records for extra EU trade are not included.

Not applicable.

All reference documents and relevant information on TEC data can be found on the ‘Focus on enterprise characteristics (TEC)’ page of the ‘International trade in goods’ section on Eurostat website.