Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsfor a world without hunger
In accordance with the internationally recommended practice, import statistics include fish caught by foreign fishing craft, whether or not processed on board, landed in domestic ports; export statistics include fish caught by domestic fishing craft, whether or not processed on board, landed in foreign ports. Two systems of recording trade are in common use, differing mainly in the way warehoused and re-exported goods are recorded: special trade and general trade. Special trade is a system of recording imports for domestic consumption on the one hand and exports of domestic goods on the other. Special imports include goods for domestic consumption and withdrawals from bonded warehouses or free zones for purposes of domestic consumption. Special exports comprise exports of goods wholly or partially produced or manufactured in the country, together with exports of 'nationalized goods', but not of goods held in bonded warehouses or free zones. General trade is a system which records total imports and total exports including re-exports. General imports consist of all imports into a country, including goods for domestic consumption and imports into bonded warehouses or free zones. General exports consist of the combined total of national exports and re-exports. Re-exports, in the general trade system, consist of the outward movement of nationalized goods plus goods that, after importation, move outward from bonded warehouses or free zones without having been transformed. Export and import data in the Commodities production and trade database relate to general trade for all countries except nearly half, which report on the basis of special trade
There are many different sources for foreign trade statistics. Data in the time series may have been obtained by more than one of the following sources:
Complete coverage of commodities' trade Collection Method: Import and trade statistics are obtained primarily from country reports provided to FAO in published form or on computer tapes. About 100 countries including the major fish trading nations, provide data on magnetic tapes. Processing Method: Whenever the data received on tapes from FAO/ESS are incomplete as to coverage these are integrated with other statistics received in printed form (for example, landings abroad). When no official statistics are submitted by a country, and no alternative source is available, the commodity quantity and value is estimated generally on the basis of mirror statistics of major trading partners. Consistent and Accurate To facilitate the reporting of consistent and accurate world commodities' trade FAO/FIPS provides internationally agreed definitions for the statistical treatment of transhipment and fish landings abroad in the international trade. Fishing vessel production can be landed and sold at foreign ports or off-loaded onto a foreign country vessel in international waters and thus sold to a foreign country. In both cases, according to definitions used to compile fishery statistics, these are considered respectively as exports and imports. Validation Mechanism: Comparison with Catch Statistics, after application of appropriate factor to convert product to live weight. |
FAO Home>Fisheries & Aquaculture
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsfor a world without hunger
Fisheries and
Aquaculture Department
| Fisheries and Aquaculture Department |
