ECA workshop on trade statistics recommends fully automated systems
By Cristina Muller, ESPD/ECA, 05 November 2004

The ECA`s Economic and Social Policy Division (ESPD) hosted from 8 to 11 November a workshop on international trade statistics to identify issues and solutions for improving the timeliness and quality of merchandise trade statistics in countries where trade data are an output of automated customs systems.

Entitled “Workshop on Compilation of International Merchandise Trade Statistics”, the meeting was organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), together with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the ECA’s Economic and Social Policy Division (ESPD).

ESPD`s Director Augustin Fosu opened the workshop.

Two country representatives, comprising a customs officer and a trade statistician, attended the workshop from Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Yemen.

Participants presented the status of the trade statistics in their countries, focusing on cooperation between the national statistical office and the customs administration in use of ASYCUDA, or other automated customs systems, for compilation of the trade statistics.

The ASYCUDA (Automated System for Customs Data) computerized customs management system covers most foreign trade procedures. The system handles manifests and customs declarations, accounting procedures, transit and suspense procedures.

Developed in Geneva by UNCTAD ASYCUDA generates trade data that can be used for statistical economic analysis, and is implemented in the customs administrations of many nations.

Other items discussed in the workshop were: EUROTRACE, as a tool for the National Statistics Office (NSO), the completeness of trade data; the quality and timeliness of the data; the recommendation by the United Nations with regard to the General Trade System, and the consequences for registration of the different customs procedures; and reporting trade data.

The key recommendation made at the workshop were: (1) that countries switch as soon as possible to the fully automated system ASYCUDA++, and (2) to implement the latest version of EUROTRACE, in order to facilitate the processing and reporting of trade statistics.

The final recommendation was that the National Customs Offices and National Statistical Offices should follow up on each of these issues and adjust where necessary.

Presenters at the workshop included specialists from the ASYCUDA team at UNCTAD, the Central Statistics and Information Retrieval Branch of UNCTAD, the Basic Data group of the UN`s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the COMESA secretariat and the International Trade Statistics Branch of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD).