Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO)

Foreign Trade Statistics Department - Foreign Trade Macro Accounting Section

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

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

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

Available datasets

TEC data are grouped into ten datasets, each one focusing on a specific aspect. Mandatory datasets 1 to 6 are available for Hungary:

1. Trade by activity sector and enterprise size class — Trade by activity sector and employment size class shows the contributions of economic activities and size classes (measured in terms of number of employees) to total trade. This allows the impact of international trade on employment to be analysed and the importance of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to be estimated.

2. Concentration of trade by activity — International trade being typically dominated by a few businesses, this indicator shows the share of the total trade accounted for by the top 5, 10, 20, etc. companies.

3. Trade by partner country and activity — Trade by partner country shows how many companies were trading with certain partner countries or country zones, and the value they accounted for. This indicator enables the most typical export or import markets to be identified.

4. Trade by number of partner countries and activity — Trade by number of partner countries shows how geographically diversified the export markets are. For imports, it shows the number of countries from which goods are imported.

5. Trade by commodity and activity — Trade by commodity and activity sector allocates the trade of each commodity to the activity of the trading enterprise. This indicator shows which sectors were involved in the trading of each product group.

6. Trade by type of trader — This indicator provides information on how traders are involved in international trade. It shows the number of companies trading within only one flow or in both flows and the trade value these companies account for.

Classification of economic activities

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

Product classification

As the TEC domain aims to categorise trade flows according to economic activities, product classifications which are based on the industrial origin of the goods are more suitable for analysis than classifications based on material of goods. For this reason, the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA) is used as the product classification in TEC. CPA is a European version of the United Nations Central Product Classification (CPC), but arranged so that each product heading is assignable to a single heading of the European activity classification, the NACE Rev. 2. CPA version 2008 is used for TEC data relating to the reference years 2012-2015. CPA version 2.1 is used since 2016 as reference year.

Country classification

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

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

All economic sectors and size classes are covered. The aim of international trade statistics as stated in the UN 2010 manual is ‘to record all goods which add to or subtract from the stock of material resources of a country by entering (imports) or leaving (exports) its economic territory’.

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

Trade value

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

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

Number of enterprises

The number of enterprises consists of a count of the number of enterprises involved in trade during at least a part of the reference period. For intra-EU trade, VAT data are used to estimate the number of traders and trade value of the smallest traders which are exempted from Intrastat reporting. These traders account for a limited share of the trade value – at most 3 % of the total value of the intra-EU exports and 7 % of the total value of the intra-EU imports – but in terms of number of enterprises they consist of the majority.

Partner country

Trade flows are broken down by partner country.

• 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, labor, 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.

The legal unit.

Any natural and legal person lodging customs declaration in Hungary is reporting to the extra-EU trade statistics on the condition that the customs procedure is of statistical relevance. Within intra-EU trade statistics any taxable person carrying out an intra-EU trade transaction is responsible for providing the information. However small and medium trade operators are exempted from the obligation to provide Intrastat declarations. Hungary has implemented a threshold system which allows intra-EU traders not to report on their transaction or provide less detailed information on condition that their total trade value does not exceed a certain amount during the previous or present calendar year.

The scope of TEC is the same as for monthly trade statistics. TEC is compiled according to the Community concept and it consists of both intra- and extra-EU trade flows.

Hungary

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

From 2012 as reference year

TEC data disseminated at national level

From 2013 as reference year

Not applicable.

• Trade value in thousands of euros
• Number of enterprises

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

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

General statistical legislation

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

Intra-EU trade legislation (or Intrastat)

• Regulation (EC) No 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.

Not applicable.

In TEC data compilation HCSO doesn't apply any confidentiality rules, because of the high level of aggregation.

In TEC data compilation HCSO doesn't apply any confidentiality rules, because of the high level of aggregation.

TEC data disseminated at national level

Hungarian Central Statistical Office releases statistical data according to a preannounced schedule which is publicly accessible on the website. A release calendar for the data set of TEC exists. These data are disseminated only by the national concept in Hungary.

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.

http://www.ksh.hu/?lang=en

(Data, publications/ Publication repertory/Dissemination calendar/Publication and revision calendar/Tables (Stadat)/ Time Series of annual data/3.5.27 – 3.5.32)

TEC data disseminated at national level

Data (only by the national concept) are released on http://www.ksh.hu/stadat_annual_3_5  at a pre-announced date and to the whole public. The release policy of the Hungarian Statistical Office determines the dissemination of statistical data to all users at the same time.

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

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

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

Not applicable

TEC data disseminated at national level

Only the data by the national concept are disseminated in Hungary.

Tables

• STADAT 3.5.27. External trade in goods by NACE activities and enterprise size class
• STADAT 3.5.28. Concentration of external trade in goods
• STADAT 3.5.29. Number of enterprises by NACE activities and number of partner countries
• STADAT 3.5.30. Imports by NACE activities and products
• STADAT 3.5.31. Exports by NACE activities and products
• STADAT 3.5.32. Number of enterprises, imports and exports by enterprise size class, types of enterprise and owners

Publication

External trade 2018

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

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

TEC data disseminated at national level

Not applicable

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

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

Not available.

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not available.

TEC data disseminated at national level

ITGS metadata are available on the website of HCSO.

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

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

100%

TEC data disseminated at national level

Not applicable

TEC data disseminated by Eurostat

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

See item 11.1 ‘Quality assurance’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.

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

The main users are the bodies of public administration (e.g. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry for National Economy). They use these data for evolving economic policies and for impact assessments of measures.

Consultation with users from the public administration. Feedback and user needs received by e-mails and phone calls. There was no user satisfaction survey, so far.

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

See document TEC Quality indicators

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

Not applicable.

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

Not applicable.

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

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

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

See document TEC Quality indicators

See document TEC Quality indicators

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

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

See document TEC Quality indicators

Not applicable.

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

See document TEC Quality indicators

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

Not applicable.

The data are comparable over time. No methodological change occurred in recent years.

From the year 2012.

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

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

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

For TEC purposes we reuse available statistical and administrative data, there is no additional burden on respondents. The cost for production emerges by the use of human resources and infrastructure of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. We use approximately 30 days for the production of TEC statistics per year.

As we only disseminate data by national concept in Hungary, we use an additional 20 days for that purpose.

Statistics by enterprise characteristics are updated once a year with a new reference year. Data published for previous reference years are not updated. Historical data could be exceptionally revised only.

Statistics by enterprise characteristics are updated once a year with a new reference year. Data published for previous reference years are not updated. For the time being there was no revision for TEC data.

Not applicable.

International trade in goods statistics by enterprise characteristics are derived from two data sources: the monthly detailed trade in goods data and data taken from the business 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 (the share of directly collected data is 94% for arrivals and 97% for dispatches) 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 business registers serve as the sources for the enterprise characteristics. No samples are drawn from the registers, but the full registers are processed.

Other sources:

• Structural Business Statistics survey
• Corporate Tax Declarations (administrative data source)

• ITGS: Intrastat - monthly, Extrastat - weekly
• Business Register: daily
• SBS: annual
• Corporate Tax Declarations: annual

From Intrastat and Extrastat databases we prepare a new merged and aggregated database by ID numbers. This new database is linked with Business Register, SBS and corporate tax declaration databases to collect information for NACE code and number of employees.

Records of the new merged database are checked and validated after every step by logical and consistency tests. Validation rules received from Eurostat (‘Easyval’) are also incorporated in the data validation.

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

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

See the section ‘Data validation’ of the Compilers guide on European statistics on international trade in goods by enterprise characteristics (TEC) for information on the main validation rules implemented.

Data linking, aggregation, conversion by nomenclatures (CN-CPA etc.).

No imputation made by Eurostat

Not applicable

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.