Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
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 enterprises 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 Greece:
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. enterprises.
3. Trade by partner country and activity — Trade by partner country shows how many enterprises 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. It shows the number of countries from which goods are imported from or exported to.
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 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.
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 ISO 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.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Activity sector: The requested data on TEC have to be made available according to NACE Rev. 2 classification. Three different levels of breakdowns are used:
1. Aggregated breakdown in datasets 2, 3 and 4
Industry (B to E);
Trade (G);
(A, F, H to U).
2. Normal breakdown in datasets 1, 5 and 6
Division level for sections C (10 to 33) and G (45 to 47);
Section level for sections A, B, D, E, F, H, J, K, L, M, N;
Other for activities I and O to U;
Unknown;
Total.
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:
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 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.
The population of TEC data derives from Intrastat and Extrastat legal units.
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.
3.5. Statistical unit
Legal persons in the framework of Intra EU Trade system.
Legal persons submitting custom declaration in a Member State in the framework of extra-EU Trade, on condition that the customs procedure has statistical relevance.
Legal unit was used as statistical unit for TEC data . The relevant TEC data based on the statistical unit ‘enterprise’ will be compiled for the next reference year, given that the information on the connection between legal units and enterprises has been recently incorporated in the Statistical Business Register. It has to be noted that for the vast majority of units (above 97%) the following equation holds: 1 legal unit = 1 enterprise.
3.6. Statistical population
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 statistical 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. Are out of scope:
Adjustments for missing trade (trade below threshold and non-response in intra-EU trade; missing, delayed and incomplete records for extra-EU trade);
Trade carried out by non-resident traders as such traders cannot be associated to an enterprise via the national Statistical Business Register; and
Trade carried out by private individuals.
3.7. Reference area
Greece.
All regions of Greece are covered. The statistical territory of Greece coincides with their customs territory as defined in Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No. 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code, as amended.
3.8. Coverage - Time
TEC data disseminated at national level
2012-2018
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
From 2012 as reference year.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
TEC data disseminated at national level
Trade value in thousands of euros
Number of enterprises
Number of employees in units
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
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.
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)
Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council
Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 1982/2004
Extra-EU trade legislation (or Extrastat)
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
Business Registers legislation
Regulation (EC) No 177/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common framework for Business Registers for statistical purposes
Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 192/2009
Implementing Commission Regulation (EU) No 1097/2010
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 are also accessible online on Eur-Lex.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
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.
More precisely: ELSTAT disseminates the statistics in compliance with the statistical principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice and in particular with the principle of statistical confidentiality.
ELSTAT protects and does not disseminate data it has obtained or it has access to, which enable the direct or indirect identification of the statistical units that have provided them by the disclosure of individual information directly received for statistical purposes or indirectly supplied from administrative or other sources. ELSTAT takes all appropriate preventive measures so as to render impossible the identification of individual statistical units by technical or other means that might reasonably be used by a third party. Statistical data that could potentially enable the identification of the statistical unit are disseminated by ELSTAT if and only if:
a) these data have been treated, as it is specifically set out in the Regulation on Statistical Obligations of the agencies of the Hellenic Statistical System (ELSS), in such a way that their dissemination does not prejudice statistical confidentiality or
b) the statistical unit has given its consent, without any reservations, for the disclosure of data.
The confidential data that are transmitted by ELSS agencies to ELSTAT are used exclusively for statistical purposes and the only persons who have the right to have access to these data are the personnel engaged in this task and appointed by an act of the President of ELSTAT.
ELSTAT may grant researchers conducting statistical analyses for scientific purposes access to data that enable the indirect identification of the statistical units concerned. The access is granted provided the following conditions are satisfied:
a) an appropriate request together with a detailed research proposal in conformity with current scientific standards have been submitted;
b) the research proposal indicates in sufficient detail the set of data to be accessed, the methods of analysing them, and the time needed for the research;
c) a contract specifying the conditions for access, the obligations of the researchers, the measures for respecting the confidentiality of statistical data and the sanctions in case of breach of these obligations has been signed by the individual researcher, by his/her institution, or by the organisation commissioning the research, as the case may be, and by ELSTAT.
Issues referring to the observance of statistical confidentiality are examined by the Statistical Confidentiality Committee (SCC) operating in ELSTAT. The responsibilities of this Committee are to make recommendations to the President of ELSTAT on:
the level of detail at which statistical data can be disseminated, so as the identification, either directly or indirectly, of the surveyed statistical unit is not possible;
the anonymization criteria for the microdata provided to users;
the granting to researchers access to confidential data for scientific purposes.
The staff of ELSTAT, under any employment status, as well as the temporary survey workers who are employed for the collection of statistical data in statistical surveys conducted by ELSTAT, who acquire access by any means to confidential data, are bound by the principle of confidentiality and must use these data exclusively for the statistical purposes of ELSTAT. After the termination of their term of office, they are not allowed to use these data for any purpose.
Violation of data confidentiality and/or statistical confidentiality by any civil servant or employee of ELSTAT constitutes the disciplinary offence of violation of duty and may be punished with the penalty of final dismissal.
ELSTAT, by its decision, may impose a penalty amounting from ten thousand (10 000) up to two hundred thousand (200 000) euros to anyone who violates the confidentiality of data and/or statistical confidentiality. The penalty is always imposed after the hearing of the defense of the person liable for the breach, depending on the gravity and the repercussions of the violation. Any relapse constitutes an aggravating factor for the assessment of the administrative sanction.
8.1. Release calendar
TEC data disseminated at national level
Publications related to the international trade in goods by enterprise characteristics including tables of data are presented in ELSTAT’s press release calendar.
Since reference year 2014, ELSTAT disseminates an annual press release at T+19 months and TEC data (tables 1 - 6) are disseminated on an annual basis.
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.
See item 8.3 ‘Release policy - user access’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
Statistics by enterprise characteristics are updated once a year with a new reference year. Historical data are exceptionally revised.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
TEC data disseminated at national level
Since reference year 2014, ELSTAT disseminates an annual press release (including data tables) regarding international trade in goods by enterprise characteristics at T+19 months.
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.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
TEC data disseminated at national level
The means of dissemination used so that the TEC data is made available to public, is ELSTAT’s website and the procedure of the provision of TEC data (Datasets 1-6) to users after their requests to ELSTAT portal.
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)’ for more details.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
TEC data disseminated at national level
A number of tables (datasets) according to the data requirements are generated. The following TEC datasets are available:
0. Reference populations
1. Trade by activity sector and type of trader
2. Trade by activity sector and enterprise size class
3. Concentration of trade by activity
4. Trade by partner countries and activity
5. Trade by number of partner countries and activity
6. Trade by commodity and activity
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)’ for more details.
10.3.1. Data tables - consultations
Not available.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Microdata are made available to users only in the case of approval of the Committee of Statistical Confidentiality. Microdata are made available to users after they are submitting a request to the:
Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)
Division of Statistical Information and Publications,
The means of dissemination used so that the TEC data is made available to public, is the ELSTAT’s website and the procedure of the provision of TEC data (Datasets 1-6) to users after their requests to ELSTAT portal.
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.
10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate
100%
10.7. Quality management - documentation
TEC data disseminated at national level
ELSTAT compiles, detailed annual quality report for the International Trade in Goods Statistics based on Eurostat’s requirements. TEC quality indicators refer to relevance, accuracy and timeliness and punctuality.
A wide range of data completeness, reliability and validity controls is implemented in order to ensure high quality data. The Intrastat and Extrastat Regulations include detailed provisions on the annual quality reporting procedure. Starting from 2012, TEC was included in this procedure.
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)’ for more details.
11.1. Quality assurance
TEC data disseminated at national level
The quality policy of ELSTAT is described in the following link:
See item 11.1 ‘Quality assurance’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
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)’.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
The main users are Enterprises, Ministries, Universities, etc. User needs are monitored on a daily basis.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
ELSTAT conducts a user satisfaction survey as well as an annual users’ Congress in which all potential users are invited to express their opinion and their needs regarding Statistical data.
See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Revised international trade in goods statistics as regards the time series 2010-2018 and the period from January – April 2019 was disseminated in July 2019. The main reason that led to this revision was the implementation of the principle of economic ownership for imports/arrivals and exports/dispatches of ships and aircrafts in line with the provisions of the EU Regulations 96/2010 and 113/2010. The TEC data for the reference years 2010-2017 will be revised and disseminated accordingly.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
See 15.2 Comparability over time.
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)’.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Not applicable.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not applicable.
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)’.
Data collection is mainly based on web applications, IT tools, administrative sources resulting in no additional costs for TEC compilation.
Revised international trade in goods statistics as regards the time series 2010-2018 and the period from January – April 2019 was disseminated in July 2019. The main reason that led to this revision was the implementation of the principle of economic ownership for imports/arrivals and exports/dispatches of ships and aircrafts in line with the provisions of the EU Regulations 96/2010 and 113/2010. The TEC data for the reference years 2010-2017 will be revised mainly and disseminated accordingly.
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 statistical business registers.
Trade in goods data are collected on the basis of:
a census for the intra-EU trade, the census units being the traders whose annual trade value is above the national Intrastat exemption threshold and who are then liable to submit an Intrastat declaration; and
administrative forms, the customs declarations, for the extra-EU trade.
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 but those estimates are not part of TEC data.
The national statistical business registers serve as the sources for the enterprise characteristics. No samples are drawn from the registers, but the full registers are processed.
Some differences in the coverage among the countries can occur. Different administrative sources depending on national law, as well as surveys, are used to update the statistical business registers, and in some countries VAT thresholds for registration apply.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Intra-EU trade and Extra-EU trade
Monthly
Business Register
Annual
TEC data
Annual
18.3. Data collection
Intrastat is an exhaustive monthly statistical survey. The parties responsible for providing statistical information through Intrastat System are the enterprises which perform intra EU trade transactions and they have exceeded the applied statistical thresholds. Statements of Intra-EU Deliveries and Acquisitions that all the enterprises are obliged to submit to the Ministry of Finance.
Extrastat data are collected monthly by administrative sources for the compilation mainly of Extra EU trade transactions. The Customs Authorities collect the relevant statistical data on trade by filling in the Single Administrative Document (SAD). In the beginning of each month Customs Authorities transmit to Hellenic Statistical Authority an electronic file with the customs data of statistical relevance of the previous month.
Statistical business register.
Data collection is mainly based on web applications and IT tools. A reminding system has been established in order to monitor non-response on a monthly basis, for survey collected data.
18.4. Data validation
A wide range of completeness, reliability and validation quality controls are applied in order to ensure data quality, including inter-dataset validation and consistency checks, according to the International Standards. A set of quality controls are applied supported by modern IT applications:
micro data validation controls are implemented at Provider Statistical Information (PSI) level;
processing of Intrastat and Extrastat raw data by ELSTAT;
validation rules at the earliest stage;
complex validation rules for continuous variables (e.g. statistical value, quantity in net mass, etc.).
All validation rules set up by Eurostat are applied:
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.
5) Validations process according to Eurostat relevant rules.
More specifically, the procedure for the compilation of statistics on trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC) is described as follows:
The trade value of each trader is linked with in the ITGS Register and the statistical business register.
A number of tables (datasets) according to the data requirements are generated. The reference population 8 is used in all TEC tables:
0. Reference populations
1. Trade by activity sector and type of trader
2. Trade by activity sector and enterprise size class
3. Concentration of trade by activity
4. Trade by partner countries and activity
5. Trade by number of partner countries and activity
6. Trade by commodity and activity
The breakdown variables used in the production of the Tables are:
Flow: imports and exports
Activity sector: The requested data on TEC have to be made available according to NACE Rev. 2 classification. Three different levels of breakdowns are used:
1. Aggregated breakdown in tables 3, 4 and 5:
Industry (B to E)
Trade (G)
(A,F, H to U)
2. Normal breakdown in tables 1, 2 and 6:
Division level for sections C (10 to 33) and G (45 to 47)
Section level for sections A, B, D, E, F, H, J, K, L, M, N
Other for activities I and O to U
Unknown
Total
Enterprise size class: measured in numbers of employees. For the purpose of TEC, the following allocation is used:
0 to 9 employees
10 to 49 employees
50 to 249 employees
250 or more employees
Unknown (_U)
Total (_T)
Concentration of trade: expressed in terms of trade value concentrated in a few top enterprises. ‘Top enterprises’ are the largest enterprises measured in terms of trade value. The following allocation is used:
Top 5 enterprises (T5)
Top 10 enterprises (T10)
Top 20 enterprises (T20)
Top 50 enterprises (T50)
Top 100 enterprises (T100)
Top 500 enterprises (T500)
Top 1000 enterprises (T1000)
Total (_T)
Partner: The requested data on TEC is broken down into a) Total trade (WORLD), b) Intra-EU trade (INT_EU) and c) Extra-EU trade (EXT_EU).
Number of partner countries: The number of partner countries is calculated by counting first the number of individual partner countries of each enterprise. The enterprises with the same number of partner countries are then summed up to form the following first seven classes:
1 partner country
2 partner countries
3 to 5 partner countries
6 to 9 partner countries
10 to 14 partner countries
15 to 19 partner countries
20 or more partner countries
Unknown (_U)
Total (_T)
Commodity: The requested data on TEC have to be made available according to the Classification of Products by Activity in the European Economic Activity (CPA 2008).The following breakdowns is used:
CPA divisions for section C (divisions 10 to 32);
Section level for the products of sections A, B, D and E;
Other for rest of the products (_O);
Unknown (_U) for the products which are not classified at CN8 level. These include also estimates of trade below the exemption threshold;
Total (_T).
Type of trader: Legal Untis are broken down according to their trade activity into traders who have only export activities, traders who have only import activities and traders who have trade activities in both flows.
Exporter only (EXP)
Importer only (IMP)
Two-way trader (TWT)
Three other categories are derived:
All importers (IMP + TWT)
All exporters (EXP + TWT)
All trading enterprises (EXP + IMP + TWT)
Compilation instruction in Table 1: the categorisation of traders has to be based on the total trade (partner world), taking into account all data sources. Every enterprise can be categorised to only one class (EXP or IMP or TWT). After categorisation, it is included in the counting of number of enterprises and contribution to the trade value by flow and partner.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
No imputation made by Eurostat
18.6. Adjustment
TEC data disseminated at national level
No adjustment in TEC data is required since they are compiled from population 8, which derives from exhaustive data sources (Intrastat, Extrastat).
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
The trade in goods data used to compile the TEC data do not include adjustments for missing trade (trade below threshold and non-response in intra-EU trade; missing, delayed and incomplete records for extra-EU trade). There are no specific adjustments made to the TEC data.
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
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.
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 enterprises 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 Greece:
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. enterprises.
3. Trade by partner country and activity — Trade by partner country shows how many enterprises 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. It shows the number of countries from which goods are imported from or exported to.
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 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.
5 January 2021
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 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.
The population of TEC data derives from Intrastat and Extrastat legal units.
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.
Legal persons in the framework of Intra EU Trade system.
Legal persons submitting custom declaration in a Member State in the framework of extra-EU Trade, on condition that the customs procedure has statistical relevance.
Legal unit was used as statistical unit for TEC data . The relevant TEC data based on the statistical unit ‘enterprise’ will be compiled for the next reference year, given that the information on the connection between legal units and enterprises has been recently incorporated in the Statistical Business Register. It has to be noted that for the vast majority of units (above 97%) the following equation holds: 1 legal unit = 1 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 statistical 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. Are out of scope:
Adjustments for missing trade (trade below threshold and non-response in intra-EU trade; missing, delayed and incomplete records for extra-EU trade);
Trade carried out by non-resident traders as such traders cannot be associated to an enterprise via the national Statistical Business Register; and
Trade carried out by private individuals.
Greece.
All regions of Greece are covered. The statistical territory of Greece coincides with their customs territory as defined in Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No. 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code, as amended.
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.
See item 13.1 ‘Accuracy - overall’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
TEC data disseminated at national level
Trade value in thousands of euros
Number of enterprises
Number of employees in units
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
Trade value in thousands of euros
Number of enterprises
1) Upload annual ITGS data to tables designed for TEC data;
5) Validations process according to Eurostat relevant rules.
More specifically, the procedure for the compilation of statistics on trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC) is described as follows:
The trade value of each trader is linked with in the ITGS Register and the statistical business register.
A number of tables (datasets) according to the data requirements are generated. The reference population 8 is used in all TEC tables:
0. Reference populations
1. Trade by activity sector and type of trader
2. Trade by activity sector and enterprise size class
3. Concentration of trade by activity
4. Trade by partner countries and activity
5. Trade by number of partner countries and activity
6. Trade by commodity and activity
The breakdown variables used in the production of the Tables are:
Flow: imports and exports
Activity sector: The requested data on TEC have to be made available according to NACE Rev. 2 classification. Three different levels of breakdowns are used:
1. Aggregated breakdown in tables 3, 4 and 5:
Industry (B to E)
Trade (G)
(A,F, H to U)
2. Normal breakdown in tables 1, 2 and 6:
Division level for sections C (10 to 33) and G (45 to 47)
Section level for sections A, B, D, E, F, H, J, K, L, M, N
Other for activities I and O to U
Unknown
Total
Enterprise size class: measured in numbers of employees. For the purpose of TEC, the following allocation is used:
0 to 9 employees
10 to 49 employees
50 to 249 employees
250 or more employees
Unknown (_U)
Total (_T)
Concentration of trade: expressed in terms of trade value concentrated in a few top enterprises. ‘Top enterprises’ are the largest enterprises measured in terms of trade value. The following allocation is used:
Top 5 enterprises (T5)
Top 10 enterprises (T10)
Top 20 enterprises (T20)
Top 50 enterprises (T50)
Top 100 enterprises (T100)
Top 500 enterprises (T500)
Top 1000 enterprises (T1000)
Total (_T)
Partner: The requested data on TEC is broken down into a) Total trade (WORLD), b) Intra-EU trade (INT_EU) and c) Extra-EU trade (EXT_EU).
Number of partner countries: The number of partner countries is calculated by counting first the number of individual partner countries of each enterprise. The enterprises with the same number of partner countries are then summed up to form the following first seven classes:
1 partner country
2 partner countries
3 to 5 partner countries
6 to 9 partner countries
10 to 14 partner countries
15 to 19 partner countries
20 or more partner countries
Unknown (_U)
Total (_T)
Commodity: The requested data on TEC have to be made available according to the Classification of Products by Activity in the European Economic Activity (CPA 2008).The following breakdowns is used:
CPA divisions for section C (divisions 10 to 32);
Section level for the products of sections A, B, D and E;
Other for rest of the products (_O);
Unknown (_U) for the products which are not classified at CN8 level. These include also estimates of trade below the exemption threshold;
Total (_T).
Type of trader: Legal Untis are broken down according to their trade activity into traders who have only export activities, traders who have only import activities and traders who have trade activities in both flows.
Exporter only (EXP)
Importer only (IMP)
Two-way trader (TWT)
Three other categories are derived:
All importers (IMP + TWT)
All exporters (EXP + TWT)
All trading enterprises (EXP + IMP + TWT)
Compilation instruction in Table 1: the categorisation of traders has to be based on the total trade (partner world), taking into account all data sources. Every enterprise can be categorised to only one class (EXP or IMP or TWT). After categorisation, it is included in the counting of number of enterprises and contribution to the trade value by flow and partner.
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 statistical business registers.
Trade in goods data are collected on the basis of:
a census for the intra-EU trade, the census units being the traders whose annual trade value is above the national Intrastat exemption threshold and who are then liable to submit an Intrastat declaration; and
administrative forms, the customs declarations, for the extra-EU trade.
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 but those estimates are not part of TEC data.
The national statistical business registers serve as the sources for the enterprise characteristics. No samples are drawn from the registers, but the full registers are processed.
Some differences in the coverage among the countries can occur. Different administrative sources depending on national law, as well as surveys, are used to update the statistical business registers, and in some countries VAT thresholds for registration apply.
Statistics by enterprise characteristics are updated once a year with a new reference year. Historical data are exceptionally revised.
See item 14.1 ‘Timeliness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
Revised international trade in goods statistics as regards the time series 2010-2018 and the period from January – April 2019 was disseminated in July 2019. The main reason that led to this revision was the implementation of the principle of economic ownership for imports/arrivals and exports/dispatches of ships and aircrafts in line with the provisions of the EU Regulations 96/2010 and 113/2010. The TEC data for the reference years 2010-2017 will be revised and disseminated accordingly.
