Statistics Estonia

Economic and Environmental Statistics Department

Statistics Estonia

Tatari 51, 10134 Tallinn

International trade in goods statistics (ITGS) published by Eurostat measure the value and quantity of goods traded between the EU Member States (intra-EU trade) and goods traded by the EU Member States with non-EU countries (extra-EU trade). ‘Goods’ means all movable property including electricity. ‘European’ means that the statistics are compiled on the basis of the concepts and definitions set out in EU legislation.

Trade by invoicing currency (TIC) data are part of the information available for extra-EU trade. The invoicing currency is the currency in which the commercial invoice is drawn up. Data by invoicing currency can be used for instance to explore the use of the euro in the EU’s international trade, to compare it with the role of the United States dollar (USD) or to analyse the role of the euro in the euro area and in the EU. These statistics are very useful to central banks, including the European Central Bank, for comparing the euro with other major international currencies. These data are also used by financial market segments or foreign investors.

Statistical dimensions available for TIC data:

• reporting country;
• partner country;
• reference period;
• trade flows;
• product; and
• currency.

Product classification

The Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) is managed by the United Nations and correlated with the subheadings of the Harmonised System. SITC Rev. 4 comprises 2 970 basing headings which are aggregated into 262 groups, 67 divisions and 10 sections. TIC data are based on the section level complemented by the division 33 ‘oil’.

Country classification

The ‘Nomenclature of countries and territories for the external trade statistics of the Union and statistics of trade between Member States’, known as the ‘Geonomenclature’, is used to collect detailed statistics on exchanges of goods. TIC data are only disseminated at an aggregated partner level: partner  ‘extra-EU’ for TIC data reported by the EU Member States and partner ‘world’ for the TIC data reported by the EFTA and enlargement countries. See the publication European business statistics geonomenclature applicable to European statistics on international trade in goods for more information.

The scope of TIC data is the same as for monthly detailed data on extra-EU trade in goods. They cover all goods entering (imports) or leaving (exports) the national statistical territory and for which the trading partner is a non-EU country. Note that the statistical territory of Estonia corresponds to its customs territory.

As ITGS in general, TIC data cover all sectors of the economy.

Reporting country – Except for some specific goods like vessels and aircraft, ITGS follow the physical movements of the goods. A country should record an import when goods enter its statistical territory and an export when goods leave that territory except if those goods are in simple transit.

Partner country – At detailed level, this is the last known country of destination for exports and the country of origin for imports. However individual partner countries are not kept in the dissemination of data by invoicing currency. They are replaced by the partner area  ‘extra-EU’.

Product – Goods are primarily classified by commodity code as set out in the EU Combined Nomenclature. TIC data are compiled on the basis of a correspondence table enabling the transposition of detailed data collected according to the Combined Nomenclature into the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). TIC data are available by three product groups: Raw materials without oil (SITC sections 0-4, excluding division 33), Oil (SITC division 33) and Manufactured products (SITC sections 5-8). Additionally, since 2021 reference period, TIC data are available also by 10 individual SITC sections.

Currency – The invoicing currency is the currency in which the commercial invoice is drawn up. Its definition is provided by the customs legislation. The following invoicing currencies or groups of currencies are transmitted to Eurostat:

• Euro (‘EUR’), national currency of Estonia
• UK pound sterling (‘GBP’)
• US dollar (‘USD’)
• National currencies of non-euro area Member States (‘XU3’)
• Other not specified currencies (‘_X’)
• Unknown currency (‘_U’)
• Total (‘_T’)
• Brazilian real (‘BRL’)
• Canadian dollar (‘CAD’)
• Swiss franc (‘CHF’)
• Chinese yuan renminbi (‘CNY’)
• Indian rupee (‘INR’)
• Japanese yen (‘JPY’)
• South Korean won (‘KRW’)
• Mexican peso (‘MXN’)
• Norwegian krone (‘NOK’)
• Russian rouble (‘RUB’)
• Singapore dollar (‘SGD’)
• Turkish lira (‘TRY’)

Note on ‘unknown’ currency: Trade for which the currency is unknown should be distributed over the individual currencies or groups of currencies proportionally to their relative share except if it is known that such a distribution would skew the data in a too significant extent. In such a case, the code UNK ‘Unknown’ could exceptionally be used.

The set of collected currencies has been evolving over time. Initially, only 5 currencies were collected (EUR, USD, _X, XU3 and _T). Since 2020 reference year, _U currency was added. The full set mentioned above has been collected only since 2021 reference year.

The statistical unit is any natural and legal person lodging a customs declaration in Estonia on the condition that the customs procedure is of statistical relevance.

The statistical population comprise all the legal or natural persons who lodged a customs declaration with the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.

Estonia

TIC data for Estonia is available once every two years starting with 2010 as reference year. Since reference year 2021 TIC data is available on yearly basis.

Not applicable.

For data transmission to Eurostat – Trade values (in national currency units) by invoicing currency. The value of traded goods is calculated at the national frontier, on a FOB (free on board) basis 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.

For data dissemination on Eurostat website – Share of each invoicing currency in extra-EU imports and exports.

The reference period is the calendar month during which the customs declaration is accepted by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.

The reference years for which TIC data are disseminated result from the aggregation of monthly figures from January to December.

General statistical legislation

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

Legislation applicable as of 1 January 2022

Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics

• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152

• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1225 specifying the arrangements for the data exchanges and amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197, as regards the Member State of extra-Union export and the obligations of reporting units

• Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1704 further specifying the details for the statistical information to be provided by tax and customs authorities and amending Annexes V and VI of Regulation (EU) 2019/2152

Extra-EU trade legislation (or Extrastat) - legislation applicable up to 1 January 2022

Basic Act: Regulation (EC) No 471/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council

• Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 92/2010

• Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 113/2010

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 of the EU are accessible on Eur-Lex.

Not applicable.

In principle data by invoicing currency are not detailed enough to make it possible to identify a specific trader. They are therefore free for publication. However the inclusion of additional detailed product categories and individual invoicing currencies might make it possible to identify individual traders. In such a case, and strictly only upon request of an importer or exporter of goods, reporting countries should prevent the release of confidential data by an appropriate marking.

TIC data are the results of the aggregation of real trade and SITC-1 digit codes are not accurate enough to disclose conditential information. Consequently, data by invoicing currency are not detailed enough to make it possible to identify a specific trader. There is no confidential data in TIC data.

TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 8.1 ‘Release calendar’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency (TIC)’ for more details.

TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 8.2 ‘Release calendar access’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 8.3 ‘Release policy - user access’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

TIC data are updated every year in April/May with a new reference year. TIC data for Estonia for reference period 2010-2020 is available only for even years. Since 2021 TIC data is available for each year.

Revisions of historical data may occur at any time but remain exceptional.

TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 10.1 ‘Dissemination format - News release’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 10.2 ‘Dissemination format - Publications’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 10.3 ‘Dissemination format - online database’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

See document TIC Quality indicators.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See document TIC Quality indicators.

TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 10.6 ‘Documentation on methodology' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

100%

TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 10.7 ‘Quality management - documentation’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

Quality reporting and assessment

The Extrastat regulation includes standardised quality articles. These articles are in line with the ESS Quality definition, European Statistics Code of Practice and the Regulation of European Statistics. In particular, they require the reporting countries to provide Eurostat with annual quality reports within a fixed deadline. Those reports are used for quality and compliance assessments. The following indicators are compiled for each reference year:

• Statistical information required by the legislation but not or partially provided
• Timeliness and punctuality of TIC data

Data quality checks prior to any dissemination

The prime responsibility for ensuring the data completeness and accuracy rests with the National Statistical Authorities. Further checks are carried out by Eurostat, essentially to ensure that the transmission of the requested data meets the requirements. Datasets must be complete, error-free, and all possible extreme values (outliers) confirmed.

See item 11.2 ‘Quality management - assessment' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 12.1 ‘Relevance - User Needs’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 12.2 ‘Relevance - User Satisfaction’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

TIC data are based on the EU legislation which is directly applicable in the EU Member States. In particular, the Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics include a clear and precise description of the characteristics of the TIC dataset to be transmitted to Eurostat. All characteristics are provided by the reporting countries.

See document TIC Quality indicators.

The accuracy is tackled at national and European levels, by eliminating as much as possible the non-sampling errors. It should be noted that the accuracy of TIC data depends mainly on the accuracy of customs declarations.

Not applicable for Estonia as TIC data are entirely derived from information collected via customs declarations.

Not applicable.

The accuracy of TIC data is primarily impacted by issues in the collection and compilation of detailed trade in goods statistics (e.g. delayed declarations, estimated trade value) combined with issues in the reporting of the invoicing currency by the trader.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See concepts 14.1.1 and 14.1.2.

See document TIC Quality indicators.

Not applicable.

TIC data are transmitted within the legal deadline.

See concept 14.2.1 for the time lag between the actual delivery of the TIC data and the target date when it should have been delivered.

See document TIC Quality indicators.

See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

Not applicable.

Changes due to definitions, classifications, coverage or methods will have an impact on the continuity of the time series. The most significant change came with the recent Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics.

Changes occur due to the changes in the composition of Extra-EU.

See concept 15.2

See item 15.3 ‘Coherence - cross domain' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See item 15.4 ‘Coherence - internal' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

TIC data are derived from information collected via customs declarations. No specific data collection is necessary, which means that there is no burden for the respondents, i.e. for the traders and businesses. The cost of TIC data only relates to the compilation step carried out by the National Statistical Authorities, which is considered as minor given the small number of records.

As data are not disseminated at national level, Estonia has no formal data revision policy. 

Not applicable.

Not available.

TIC data are derived from trade in goods transactions and invoicing currencies collected via customs declarations.

TIC data is collected every month via customs declarations

Collection of trade in goods data

The source of information on trade transactions is the customs declaration submitted by businesses and by private individuals involved in an international transaction of goods with a non-EU country. 

Collection of the invoicing currency

The invoicing currency is the currency in which the commercial invoice is drawn up. It is mandatory information collected by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board for imported goods and exported goods. 

TIC data are derived from trade in goods transactions collected via customs declarations and the data have been through all the Extrastat quality checks.

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

• Consistency with the expected IT structural requirements: validity of format and codes, integrity of the file
• Consistency within the dataset: completeness of the file, consistency with EDAMIS metadata, intra-record checks on values, inter-record consistency checks, consistency checks on derived values
• Consistency with other datasets within the same domain and the same data source - size of revisions, variation over previous reference years
• Consistency within the same domain and a different data source: check of the coherence between trade values published in the TIC dataset and trade values coming from aggregated and detailed trade in goods data.

At national level:

Invoicing currency is mandatory data element, and this field is always completed.

TIC data are compiled on the basis of EU requirements using the data of customs declarations

At European level:

The share of each invoicing currency in the imports and exports of the reporting country is calculated on the basis of the transmitted trade values. Additionally, Eurostat derives TIC data for the EU and the euro area as reporting entities by aggregating the trade values reported by the Member States.

At national level:

No imputation is made at national level

At European level:

No imputation is made by Eurostat.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

None.