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For any question on data and metadata, please contact: Eurostat user support |
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1.1. Contact organisation | National Statistical Institute |
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1.2. Contact organisation unit | Statistics On Foreign Trade In Goods Department |
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1.5. Contact mail address | Restricted from publication |
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2.1. Metadata last certified | 05/01/2021 | ||
2.2. Metadata last posted | 05/01/2021 | ||
2.3. Metadata last update | 05/01/2021 |
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3.1. Data description | |||
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:
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 6 are available for Bulgaria: 1. Trade by activity sector and enterprise size class — Trade by activity sector and employment size class shows the contributions of economic activities and size classes (measured in terms of number of employees) to total trade. This allows the impact of international trade on employment to be analysed and the importance of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to be estimated. 2. Concentration of trade by activity — International trade being typically dominated by a few businesses, this indicator shows the share of the total trade accounted for by the top 5, 10, 20, etc. companies. 3. Trade by partner country and activity — Trade by partner country shows how many companies were trading with certain partner countries or country zones, and the value they accounted for. This indicator enables the most typical export or import markets to be identified. 4. Trade by number of partner countries and activity — Trade by number of partner countries shows how geographically diversified the export markets are. For imports, it shows the number of countries from which goods are imported. 5. Trade by commodity and activity — Trade by commodity and activity sector allocates the trade of each commodity to the activity of the trading enterprise. This indicator shows which sectors were involved in the trading of each product group. 6. Trade by type of trader — This indicator provides information on how traders are involved in international trade. It shows the number of companies trading within only one flow or in both flows and the trade value these companies account for. |
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3.2. Classification system | |||
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. |
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3.3. Coverage - sector | |||
TEC data cover all activity sectors, from sections A to U of the NACE Rev. 2 classification. |
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3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions | |||
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:
Number of enterprises The number of enterprises consists of a count of the number of legal units (used as an approximation to enterprises) involved in trade during at least a part of the reference period. For intra-EU trade, VAT data are used to estimate the number of traders and trade value of the smallest traders which are exempted from Intrastat reporting. These traders account for a limited share of the trade value – at most 3 % of the total value of the intra-EU exports and 7 % of the total value of the intra-EU imports – but in terms of number of enterprises they consist of the majority.
Partner country Trade flows are broken down by partner country.
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 legal unit (used as an approximation to the enterprise). It indicates whether the legal unit is involved only in exports or only imports or trade in both flows. The type of trader aims to describe the heterogeneity of legal units (used as an approximation to the enterprises) according to their involvement in trade. |
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3.5. Statistical unit | |||
The legal unit is used as an approximation to the statistical unit - the enterprise. The Business Register Regulation establishes a link between the business registers and the registers of intra- and extra- EU trade operators through a common unit of reference, namely the legal unit. The enterprise is the statistical unit to be used, which means that trade data must be linked to characteristics available in the Business Register for the enterprise through the legal unit. In this way, trade data are connected with the characteristics of the legal unit (an approximation to the enterprise) and they can be reported in terms of the economic activity and number of employees for the enterprise. |
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3.6. Statistical population | |||
The statistical population should comprise all the enterprises (legal units) 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:
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. Are out of scope:
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3.7. Reference area | |||
Bulgaria |
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3.8. Coverage - Time | |||
From 2012 as reference year. |
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3.9. Base period | |||
Not applicable. |
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The reference period is the same as for monthly trade in goods statistics. It is the calendar month of export or import of the goods for intra-EU trade and the calendar month during which the customs declaration is accepted by the national authorities for extra-EU trade; |
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6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements | |||
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)
Extra-EU trade legislation (or Extrastat)
Business Registers legislation
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. |
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6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing | |||
Not applicable |
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7.1. Confidentiality - policy | |||
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society. Confidentiality policy is described in the Bulgarian Law on Statistics - Chapter Six ‘Protection of secrecy’: Article 25 (1) Individual data received and collected through statistical surveys shall constitute a statistical secret and may be used only for statistical purposes. Individual data received for the purposes of statistical surveys may not be used as evidence before the bodies of the executive and the judiciary. (2) The National Statistical Institute and statistical authorities and their staff may not disclose or provide: 1. individual statistical data; 2. statistical data which can be matched in a way that enables the identification of a specific statistical unit; 3. statistical information which aggregates data about less than three statistical units or about a population in which the relative share of the value of a surveyed parameter of a single unit exceeds 85 per cent of the total value of such parameter for all units in the population. Article 26. (1) Individual data referred to in Article 25 may be provided only if: 1. (repealed); 2. transferred to Eurostat where this is necessary for development and production of European statistical information; 3. provided to the National Statistical Institute by statistical authorities where this is necessary for development and production of official statistical information; 4. (repealed); 5. (repealed). (2) Individual data may be published only if the subject to which such data relate has granted consent therefor. Such consent shall be granted in writing and should clearly specify which data it includes. The person to whom such data relate may at any time withdraw his/her consent in writing, and such withdrawal shall not apply to actions performed prior to it. |
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7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment | |||
Confidential data is defined as ‘data which allow statistical units to be identified, either directly or indirectly, thereby disclosing individual information. To determine whether a statistical unit is identifiable, account shall be taken of all relevant means that might reasonably be used by a third party to identify the statistical unit’. For TEC data, the principle of active confidentiality applies, which means that the NSI takes the initiative to suppress the data whose dissemination would make it possible to identify an enterprise or a trader. The legal provisions (articles 13a (8) of Regulation (EC) No 1982/2004 and 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 113/2010, respectively relating to the compilation of statistics on trade by enterprise characteristics for intra- and extra-EU) define only the principle to be applied. The application of confidentiality in practice is under the responsibility of the NSI. The rules to define confidential data are described in 7.1. NSI have the responsibility to mark the data as confidential before their transmission to the Commission (Eurostat). Besides the legal provisions, NSI follows a number of practical recommendations in order to ensure data disclosure with a minimum loss of information. These recommendations are listed below:
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8.1. Release calendar | |||
TEC data are only 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. |
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8.2. Release calendar access | |||
Not applicable. |
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8.3. Release policy - user access | |||
TEC data are only 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. |
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Statistics by enterprise characteristics are updated once a year with a new reference year. Historical data are exceptionally revised. |
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10.1. Dissemination format - News release | |||
TEC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 10.1 ‘Dissemination format - News release’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’ for more details. |
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10.2. Dissemination format - Publications | |||
TEC data are only 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)’ for more details. |
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10.3. Dissemination format - online database | |||
TEC data are only 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)’ for more details. |
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10.3.1. Data tables - consultations | |||
Not available. |
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10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access | |||
Not applicable |
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10.5. Dissemination format - other | |||
Not applicable |
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10.5.1. Metadata - consultations | |||
Not available. |
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10.6. Documentation on methodology | |||
TEC data are only 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)’ for more details. |
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10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate | |||
100% |
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10.7. Quality management - documentation | |||
TEC data are only 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)’ for more details. |
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11.1. Quality assurance | |||
See item 11.1 ‘Quality assurance’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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11.2. Quality management - assessment | |||
See item 11.2 ‘Quality management - assessment’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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12.1. Relevance - User Needs | |||
TEC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 12.1 ‘Relevance - User Needs’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’ for more details. |
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12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction | |||
TEC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 12.2 ‘Relevance - User Satisfaction’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’ for more details. |
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12.3. Completeness | |||
See item 12.3 ‘Completeness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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12.3.1. Data completeness - rate | |||
See document TEC Quality indicators |
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13.1. Accuracy - overall | |||
See item 13.1 ‘Accuracy - overall’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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13.2. Sampling error | |||
Not applicable. Neither the international trade in goods statistics, nor the business registers are affected by errors related to sample surveys. |
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13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3. Non-sampling error | |||
See item 13.3 ‘Non-sampling error’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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13.3.1. Coverage error | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.2. Measurement error | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.3. Non response error | |||
See item 13.3.3 of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims- International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’ |
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13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate | |||
See document TEC Quality indicators |
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13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate | |||
See document TEC Quality indicators |
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13.3.4. Processing error | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.5. Model assumption error | |||
Not applicable. |
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14.1. Timeliness | |||
See item 14.1 ‘Timeliness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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14.1.1. Time lag - first result | |||
See document TEC Quality indicators |
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14.1.2. Time lag - final result | |||
Not applicable. |
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14.2. Punctuality | |||
See item 14.2 ‘Punctuality’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication | |||
See document TEC Quality indicators |
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15.1. Comparability - geographical | |||
See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient | |||
Not applicable. |
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15.2. Comparability - over time | |||
Changes due to definitions, classifications, coverage or methods have an impact on the continuity of the time series. There is a change related to the definition of the intra- versus extra-EU areas following Croatia's adhesion to the EU in 2013 (from intra/extra-EU27 to intra/extra-EU28 partner areas). The compilation of TEC data follows the requirements described by Eurostat in the respective Compilers guide on European statistics on international trade in goods by enterprise characteristics (TEC) related to a given reference year. |
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15.2.1. Length of comparable time series | |||
2012 - 2018 |
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15.3. Coherence - cross domain | |||
See item 15.3 ‘Coherence - cross domain’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics | |||
Not applicable. |
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15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts | |||
Not applicable. |
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15.4. Coherence - internal | |||
See item 15.4 ‘Coherence - internal’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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TEC data are derived from information made available by two major statistical domains: the international trade in good s statistics and the business statistics. No specific data collection is then necessary, which means that the burden is null for the respondents, i.e. for the traders and businesses. The cost of TEC data only relates to the compilation step carried out by the NSI. |
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17.1. Data revision - policy | |||
Revision of TEC data is not foreseen if they passed all the validity checks and are approved by Eurostat. |
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17.2. Data revision - practice | |||
Statistics by enterprise characteristics are only exceptionally revised. |
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17.2.1. Data revision - average size | |||
Not applicable. |
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18.1. Source data | |||
International trade in goods statistics by enterprise characteristics are derived from two data sources: the monthly detailed trade in goods data and data taken from the Business register. Trade in goods data are collected on the basis of:
Note that missing data (exempted intra-EU traders, missing Intrastat declarations) are estimated by the NSI in order to disseminate trade in goods data covering 100% of the trade. The national Business register serve as the sources for the enterprise characteristics. The state of the Business register on a particular date is used as a source for the compilation of TEC data. Different administrative sources, as well as surveys, are used to update the Business register. |
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18.2. Frequency of data collection | |||
Intra-EU trade and Extra-EU trade Monthly
Business Register The frequency of updating the Business register depends on the kind of unit, the variable considered, the size of the unit and the source used for the update. Main economic characteristics in the Business register are updated annually.
TEC data Annual |
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18.3. Data collection | |||
Collection of trade in goods data
Collection of data for the Business Register The maintenance of business registers is normally based on the effective use of various administrative and statistical data sources. The frequency of updating the business registers depends on the kind of unit, the variable considered, the size of the unit and the source generally used for the update. The key characteristics such as economic/stratification variables are updated annually. The state of the Business register on a particular date is used as a source for the compilation of TEC data. |
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18.4. Data validation | |||
Before the transmission of TEC data to Eurostat NSI validates them using the following quality checks:
See the section ‘Data validation’ of the Compilers guide on European statistics on international trade in goods by enterprise characteristics (TEC) for information on the main validation rules implemented. |
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18.5. Data compilation | |||
Compilation steps
0. Reference populations (new Breakdown 11)
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18.5.1. Imputation - rate | |||
No imputation made by Eurostat |
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18.6. Adjustment | |||
Missing data (exempted intra-EU traders, missing Intrastat declarations) are estimated by the NSI. For the purposes of intra-EU trade the estimations of the missing Intrastat declarations (non-response) are made for each trader on CN2 level and partner country while the estimations on the exempted intra-EU traders (trade below the thresholds) are calculated only on CN2 level and partner country. For the purposes of TEC data and the distributions by traders of the estimated values for the trade below the thresholds VAT data is used. Therefore the estimated values for the trade below the thresholds are not distributed by CPA and by partner country and are treated as Unknown trade in the related tables (breakdowns). |
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18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment | |||
Not applicable. |
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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. |
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ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods - trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC) |
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