Trade by Enterprise Characteristics 2017

Background notes

This publication from the Central Statistics Office analyses goods exports and imports data from the point of view of the activity and the size of the enterprises engaged in trade in goods. This differs from the traditional focus of trade statistics, which is on the products being traded.  In other words, this publication deals with who is trading rather than what is being traded.

The data in this publication is based on Trade by Enterprise (TEC) data which the CSO supplies to Eurostat on an annual basis under EU Regulation 222/2009, which provides data on the size class and NACE activity sector of enterprises engaged in the export and import of goods in Ireland.

Data on exports and imports of goods which are collected by VIMA (a branch of Revenue) via the Intrastat survey and customs and VAT declarations are matched with the CSO’s Business Register to provide information on the NACE classification and size of the enterprises engaged in the trade of goods. 

For more information on the Intrastat and Extrastat systems, see the Methods page for External Trade statistics on the CSO website.  For more information on the CSO Business Register, see the Methods page for Business Demography, also on the CSO website.

http://www.cso.ie/en/methods/externaltrade/intrastatcollectionofintraeutradedata/

http://www.cso.ie/en/methods/externaltrade/extra-statcollectionofnon-eutradedata/

http://www.cso.ie/en/methods/multisectoral/businessdemography/

Goods Exports and Imports

The results presented in this publication include only enterprises whose value of exports or imports exceeds €5,000 in a calendar year.  As a result, 2,900 exporters and 18,400 importers have been excluded from the analysis in 2017.  The total value of trade in goods from these enterprises in 2017 equalled €4.3 million of exports and €26.5 million of imports.  This cut-off point was chosen in order to provide a more accurate representation of the trade in goods of the most significant enterprises engaged in goods exports and imports.

There are differences in the number of enterprises compared to the previous publication. In particular there has been a reduction in the “Unknown” category, with corresponding increases across the different NACE sector and size classifications. This quality improvement has been achieved through improvements to the data matching process.

NACE classifications

The NACE sectors used to classify the enterprises in this publication are as follows:

Size classifications

The size classifications used to describe enterprise size in this publication are as follows:

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) referred to in the publication comprise enterprises in the micro, small and medium category.

Specific differences with monthly trade statistics

Trade in goods data is collected by VIMA at VAT number level, and when matched with the Business Register, it is then aggregated to enterprise level.  For this reason, there are fewer enterprises in these tables than VAT numbers registered.

The data in this publication matches the data sent by the CSO to Eurostat on a monthly basis, and so, it differs slightly from the sum of annual trade data in the CSO’s monthly trade statistical release.

Goods sent abroad and returned after repair and the parts used in the repair are not included in the data in this publication, as is required under Eurostat legislation.  Goods sent and received for repair are included as part of the CSO’s monthly trade statistical release.

The trade recorded here is on a ‘special trade’ basis, while the monthly trade statistical release is calculated on a ‘general trade’ basis.  Under the ‘general trade’ system exports and imports are recorded at the time the goods are moved across the boundary of the State. In particular this means that goods imported into a custom bonded warehouse are recorded at the time of entry into the country.  On a ‘special trade’ basis, goods are recorded as imported at the time of their release from the warehouse.