Hellenic Statistical Authority, ELSTAT

Section of International Transactions Statistics

46 Pireos and Eponiton str., 18510 Piraeus

International trade in goods statistics (ITGS) published by Eurostat and Greece 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 Geonomenclature applicable to European statistics on international trade in goods for more information (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/international-trade-in-goods/publications#methotherpub).

The scope of TIC data coincides with the scope of 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 Greece corresponds to its customs territory. Due to Brexit, the extra-EU trade area includes the United Kingdom as partner country. This change applies since 2020 as reference year.

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’. Due to Brexit, the extra-EU trade area includes the United Kingdom as partner country. This change applies since 2020 as reference year.

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). Under the European Business Statistics Regulation ( (EU) 2019/2152), from reference year 2022, the sections SITC0 to SITC9, as well as Division 33, are reported to Eurostat seperately. Division SITC33 and total trade (covering SITC0 to SITC9) are provided as well.

Currency – The invoicing currency is the currency in which the commercial invoice is drawn up. Its definition is provided by the customs legislation. 

EL compiles TIC data since reference year 2016 on a annual basis.

For 2020 reference period, the invoicing currency for trade transactions between Greece and the United Kingdom has been unknown as the Intrastat declaration remains the collection mean during the transition period (February-December 2020).
For the references years 2016-2021 the following currencies or groups of invoicing currencies have been considered for data transmission to Eurostat except from unknown currency _U which was added since reference year 2020:
- euro;
- national currencies of EU Member States not belonging to the euro area;
- US dollar;
- Currency other than the national currency of the non-euro area Member States, the euro and the dollar
- unknown currency.

From reference year 2022 onwards trade flows are broken down into the following invoicing currency breakdown given that the customs declarations are used as data source:
All currencies (_T)
Other not specified currencies (_X)
Unknown currency (_U)
Euro (EUR)
UK pound sterling (GBP)
US dollar (USD)
National currencies of non-euro area Member States (XU3)
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)

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

The statistical population comprises all the legal or natural persons who have lodged a customs declaration with the National Customs Authority of Greece within the year.

Greece

TIC data must be compiled once every two years starting with 2010 as reference year. Data relating to in-between years are optional, which leads to incomplete geographical coverage. 2017 is the first in-between year for which optional TIC data are available.
Since year 2016 EL compiles TIC data on a annual basis.

TIC data disseminated by Eurostat

See document TIC Quality indicators.

TIC data disseminated at national level

2016-2019

Not applicable.

For data transmission to Eurostat and data disseminated at national level – 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.

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

Theoretically, the reference period for the information on international trade in goods transactions should be the calendar month of export or import of the goods. However, in practice the reference period is generally the calendar month during which the customs declaration is accepted by the Customs Authorities of Greece.

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.

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.

As a general definition, data used by national and EU authorities for producing statistics are considered confidential if statistical units can be identified, either directly or indirectly, and information about individuals or businesses is disclosed as a result.

The issues concerning the observance of statistical confidentiality by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) are arranged by articles 7, 8 and  9  of  the  Law  3832/2010  as  in  force,  by  Articles  8,  10  and  11(2)  of  the  Regulation  on  Statistical Obligations of the agencies of the Hellenic Statistical System and by Articles 10 and 15 of the Regulation on the Operation and Administration of ELSTAT relevant link:
https://www.statistics.gr/en/statistical-confidentiality?inheritRedirect=true

The Statistical Confidentiality Policy of ELSTAT includes the rules and principles implemented by ELSTAT for the observance of statistical confidentiality and is available at the following link:
http://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/1609796/ELSTAT_Statistical_Confidentiality_Policy_EN.pdf/c79e5ac8-469c-433d-b4e6-8433319b21d2.

Passive confidentiality: The European Regulation of  International Trade in Goods Statistics (ITGS) requires the application of passive confidentiality. Passive confidentiality means that the NSA will suppress the disseminated data only upon request of the provider of statistical information (PSI) whose individual data might be indirectly revealed from published results. In accordance with the Article 11 of Regulation (ΕC) 638/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council, where the parties who have provided information so request, the national authorities decide whether statistical results which make it possible indirectly to identify the said provider(s) are to be disseminated or are to be amended in such a way that their dissemination does not prejudice statistical confidentiality. Furthermore, in accordance with Article 10 of Regulation (ΕC) 471/2009 of the European Parliament and the Council, only where an importer or exporter so requests will the national authorities of a given Member State decide whether the external trade statistics of that Member State which may make it possible to identify that importer or exporter are to be disseminated or are to be amended in such a way that their dissemination does not prejudice statistical confidentiality.

Data by invoicing currency are compiled at aggregated levels, therefore they are not detailed enough to make it possible to identify a specific trader. Subsequently, no specific data treatment is applied.

TIC data are the result of the aggregation of public trade data.

TIC data disseminated at national level

The Press Releases Calendar which is posted on the website of ELSTAT announces, approximately, 4 months before the beginning of the calendar year the exact release dates of the data, that will take place during the year.

Since reference year 2016 ELSTAT disseminates an annual press release at T+4 months.

TIC data 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 disseminated at national level

The Press Releases Calendar is distributed to the press and is available to all interested parties free of charge. It is also available on the ELSTAT’s website  at the following link: https://www.statistics.gr/en/calendar#12021

TIC data 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 disseminated at national level

The data are included in the Press Release “Statistics on International Trade in Goods with third countries by invoicing currency” which is published on ELSTAT’s  website, at 12:00 of the specific date announced in the Press Release Calendar, at the following link:  https://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/SFC10/2019
The Press Release is published 4 months following the end of the reference year.

TIC data 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 disseminated at national level

Yearly with a new reference year.
Revisions of historical data may occur at any time but remain exceptional.

TIC data disseminated by Eurostat

See item 9 ‘Frequency of dissemination’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

TIC data disseminated at national level

Press Release “International Trade in Goods with third countries by invoicing currency” is available at the following link https://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/SFC10/-

TIC data 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 disseminated at national level

Press Release “International Trade in Goods with third countries by invoicing currency”  is available at the following link: https://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/SFC10/-

The means of dissemination used so that the TIC data is made available to public, is ELSTAT’s website and the procedure for the provision of TIC data to users after they submit requests through ELSTAT portal.

TIC data 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 disseminated at national level

TIC data are disseminated at national level through a Press Release “International Trade in Goods with third countries by invoicing currency” which is available at the following link: https://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/SFC10/-

TIC data 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.

Data tables are available to users upon request  through ELSTAT portal.

Micro-data can be supplied, upon request, and only following the approval of the Statistical Confidentiality Committee.
Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)
Division of Statistical Information and Publications
46 Pireos and Eponiton St.
185 10 Piraeus
(tel. +302131352022, fax +302131352312, e-mail:data.dissem@statistics.gr)

Not applicable.

See document TIC Quality indicators.

TIC data disseminated at national level

See "Explanatory Notes" in the Press Release “International Trade in Goods with third countries by invoicing currency” available at the following link: https://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/SFC10/-

TIC data 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 disseminated at national level

See "Explanatory Notes" in the Press Release “International Trade in Goods with third countries by invoicing currency”.

TIC data 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.

The reliability of the data source and the exhaustiveness of data collection (close to 100%) ensures data completeness and accuracy of TIC statistics. Detailed validity and credibility quality controls are carried out at record level. Datasets are complete.

The quality policy of ELSTAT is available at the following link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/policies

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 disseminated at national level

The main users are Enterprises, Ministries, Universities, Embassies etc. User requests are monitored on a daily basis.

TIC data 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 disseminated at national level

The degree of satisfaction of users is assessed by their comments and remarks expressed:

a) at the annual Users’ Conferences organized by ELSTAT, 

b) at the  meetings of  the  Advisory  Committee  of  the  Hellenic Statistical  System  (SYEPELSS),  in  which  participate  representatives  of  bodies  using  statistics  and

c) through the User Satisfaction Survey conducted by the competent Statistical Data Dissemination Section of ELSTAT.

The results of the user satisfaction survey are available at the following link: http://www.statistics.gr/en/user-satisfaction-survey.

The conclusions of the user conferences are available at the link: http://www.statistics.gr/en/user-conference.

TIC data 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 includes a clear and precise description of the characteristics of the TIC dataset to be transmitted to Eurostat. All characteristics are provided to Eurostat. 

See item 12.3 ‘Completeness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

100% for all years 2010-2022

See document TIC Quality indicators.

The Customs Authorities are competent for the collection of data on trade with third countries, while the compilation of the relevant statistics is under the responsibilities of ELSTAT. 

The statistical data on imports and exports with Third Countries are compiled on the basis of the monthly data from the Customs Authorities. In order to ensure completeness, data from the incomplete customs declarations are integrated, concerning mostly oil products. The data from the incomplete customs declarations, after having been completed, are replaced by the respective final data.

TIC statistics, as ITGS with Third Countries, is mainly a census survey (99.9% of the data regarding the currency indication is collected by Customs Authorities and less than 0.01% of the total of exports is estimated to ensure 100% coverage). A wide range of quality checks are carried out during the whole process of the compilation of ITGS in order to fully meet the requirements of European regulations. These checks aim at ensuring completeness, reliability and validity of statistics, thus resulting to high quality data, fully harmonized with international standards.

TIC data are considered of high accuracy as they are compiled on the basis of Customs Authorities data, which is a reliable source, as well as on the account of the quality checks applied.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See item 13.3 ‘Non-sampling error' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.

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.

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.

ELSTAT meets the TIC data transmission deadline. 

See document TIC Quality indicators.

From a methodological point of view, the comparability across countries is ensured by the implementation of the concepts and definitions set in the EU legislation and by the application of the complementary guidelines provided by the Compilers guide on European statistics on international trade in goods.The only change relates to Croatia's adhesion to the EU in 2013.

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.

See 15.2 Comparability over time

The internal coherence among ITGS statistics and TIC statistics is 100% and evaluated as very satisfactory.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

TIC data are internally coherent because their compilation system is based on comprehensive, systematic and harmonized data collection methods, and quality checks.The internal coherence of the TIC dataset is ensured by the intra-dataset checks carried out  before any data dissemination.

The data are transmitted by administrative data sources.  Additionally, the compilation of TIC statistics is mainly based on web applications and IT tools and there is no additional cost and burden for the their compilation.

Data revision, if needed, is based on the Revision Policy of ELSTAT, available at the link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/policies

• The users are timely informed on any major discrepancies that are identified in published data resulting to non-scheduled revisions. The revised results are published without any delay in a transparent and open procedure. Furthermore, the reasons for the non-scheduled revisions are also made public.
• The major and non-scheduled revisions of data, when published, are accompanied by the relevant documentation, as well as by accordingly updated historical data, when available. Information on the revisions is also provided in the metadata of surveys which are published on the website of ELSTAT.  ELSTAT has to announce in advance the revisions, informing on their release date. The announcement on the date of the revisions is posted on the website of ELSTAT.
• ELSTAT announces major methodological changes in the compilation of statistics before the publication of statistics that are based on the new methods.
• ELSTAT follows the revisions on a regular basis, by implementing international methods as appropriate. Data revision, is based on the Revision Policy of ELSTAT that is available at the link: http://www.statistics.gr/en/policies

Not available.

TIC data are derived from:

• Trade in goods transactions collected via customs declarations;
• Invoicing currencies collected via customs declarations; and
• Other, mainly administrative data sources, for specific goods and movements.

Collection of trade in goods data: every month via customs declarations

Collection of the invoicing currency: every month via customs declarations

Collection of trade in goods data

The Customs Authorities transmit to ELSTAT, on a monthly basis, an electronic file with all imports and exports on a record level, on the basis of the custom declarations lodged with them, pursuant to Article 2 of Regulation 92/2010.

For specific goods and movements additional, mainly, administrative data sources are used.

Collection of the invoicing currency

Through the customs declarations  via the fields of the Single Administrative Document all the required information is collected, including the currency and amount on invoice, which is  in almost all cases available.

A wide range of quality checks are carried out during the whole process of the compilation of ITGS in order to fully meet the requirements of European regulations. These checks aim at ensuring completeness, reliability and validity of statistics, thus resulting to high quality data, fully harmonized with international standards. The results of the TIC statistics ensure high quality as all variables are collected, in compliance with the requirements of the European institutional framework.

TIC data from Greecedisseminated by Eurostat have been subject to the following quality checks:

• Intra-dataset checks: completeness of the dataset and uniqueness of the records, validity of the codes, validity of code combinations across the different dimensions, inter-record consistency checks;
• Intra-domain check: 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:

The Customs Authorities are competent for the collection of data on trade with third countries, while the compilation of the relevant statistics is under the responsibilities of ELSTAT.

The statistical data on imports and exports of goods with the Third Countries, are derived from the data transmitted by the Customs Authorities to ELSTAT and incorporate the provisional data from the “incomplete customs declarations" - which concern mainly petroleum products. In the monthly data on trade with third countries; the “incomplete customs declarations” data after having been completed are replaced by the final data.

International Trade in Goods by Invoicing Currency data are aggregated by currency categories depending on the currency of the commercial transaction invoice and by product group, depending on the product category. The statistical value is expressed in euro (€), irrespective of the currency indicated.

EL compiles TIC data since reference year 2016 on a annual basis.

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. Due to Brexit, the extra-EU trade area includes the United Kingdom as partner country. This change applies since 2020 as reference year.

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). Under the European Business Statistics Regulation ( (EU) 2019/2152), from reference year 2022, the sections SITC0 to SITC9, as well as Division 33, are reported to Eurostat seperately. Division SITC33 and total trade (covering SITC0 to SITC9) are provided as well.

Currency – The invoicing currency is the currency in which the commercial invoice is issued, and it is recorded in accordance with the ISO alpha-3 currency code (ISO 4217). The primary data source for the compilation of these statistics is the Customs Authorities.

For 2020 reference period, the invoicing currency for trade transactions between Greece and the United Kingdom has been unknown as the Intrastat declaration remains the collection mean during the transition period (February-December 2020).
For the references years 2016-2021 the following currencies or groups of invoicing currencies have been considered for data transmission to Eurostat except from unknown currency _U which was added since reference year 2020:
- euro;
- national currencies of EU Member States not belonging to the euro area;
- US dollar;
- Currency other than the national currency of the non-euro area Member States, the euro and the dollar
- unknown currency.

From reference year 2022 onwards trade flows are broken down into the following invoicing currency breakdown given that the customs declarations are used as data source:
All currencies (_T)
Other not specified currencies (_X)
Unknown currency (_U)
Euro (EUR)
UK pound sterling (GBP)
US dollar (USD)
National currencies of non-euro area Member States (XU3)
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)

At European level:

The share of each invoicing currency in the imports and exports of Greece is calculated on the basis of the transmitted trade values.

At national level:

No imputation is made at national level.

At European level:

No imputation is made by Eurostat.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.