Dataset description and subject overview

The OECD International Trade by Commodities Statistics (ITCS) contains annual time series data from 1961 onwards on foreign trade of the OECD's Member countries and selected non-OECD countries (China, Hong Kong China and Chinese Taipei). It provides detailed data on commodity and partner country in value and in quantity. The ITCS is split into five databases:

1. International Trade by Commodity - Harmonized System 1988
2. International Trade by Commodity - Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) Revision 2
3. International Trade by Commodity - SITC Revision 3
4. International Trade by Commodity - Harmonised System 1996
5. International Trade by Commodity - Total Trade and Trade Conversion Factors

**ESDS International provides access to the ITCS - Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) Rev.2 database only.**

Background to the OECD ITCS classification by commodity systems

Since 1988, OECD receives data according to Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) or in a more disagregated level. Data are then converted into Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) Rev. 3 and Rev. 2. From 1991, data may be obtained according to SITC Rev. 2, SITC Rev. 3. From 1996, data may be obtained according to SITC Rev. 2, SITC Rev. 3 or HS 96. However, it should be noted that if it is easily feasible to convert data from a recent revision to an older one, the conversion from SITC Rev. 2 to SITC Rev. 3 is quite delicate, if not impossible. Consequently, to obtain a consistent time series, one should carefully choose which revision to use. This is why from 1961 to 1987 data are only available in SITC Rev. 2, which are contained in the OECDs Historical series in SITC Rev. 2 from 1961 to 1990.

The SITC has been regularly revised to take into account the structural changes of the market according to the appearance of new commodities and the need of more detailed statistics on some commodity groups. OECD provides two versions : the SITC Revision 2 and the SITC revision 3. The first version (Revision 1) was introduced in 1960. The second version (SITC Rev. 2) containing 2582 products was introduced and adopted by most Member countries in 1978. The third version (Rev. 3) which contains 4346 products, has been used from 1988 onwards, except the United States and Turkey which have adopted data in Rev. 3 only from 1989 onwards.

An official version of the HS, was instituted in 1988 (HS 88). The HS has been revised in 1996 (HS 1996) and in 2002 (HS 2002) to take into account new trends in the composition of international trade. The HS is broken down by chapter (two-digit) , by heading (four-digit) and by subheading (6 digit). SITC rev. 3 was developed in 1988 in the same way as the HS, this is why it follows the structure of the HS, so that the smallest SITC units are defined by HS subheadings. Since 2002, data are collected according to the HS 2002 and then converted to older classifications, which might affect the allocation of some commodities.

Both the HS and SITC classifications serve the same purpose - to provide extensive commodity trade data for example on Trade negotiations, monitoring of economic trends, monitoring of various flows of goods, balance of payments, national accounts, market analysis, supply balance sheets, budgetary control.

The ITCS contains three type of series: i) Data for individual reporter country (each reporter country is individually presented in one table in Beyond 20/20), ii) Trade conversion factors for all OECD Member country (see below conversion rates) and iii) Total trade, imports and exports for each OECD member country

From 1 January 1999, the conversion rates for the Euro-zone countries from national currencies into USD are calculated using the Euro/USD exchange rate and the fixed Euro/national currency exchange rates.

Euro Conversion rates

• Austria (Schilling) 13.7603
• Belgium (Belgian franc) 40.3399
• Finland (Markka) 5.94573
• France (French franc) 6.55957
• Germany (Deutsche Mark) 1.95583
• Greece (Drachma) 340.750
• Ireland (Irish Pound) 0.787564
• Italy (Italian Lira) 1936.27
• Luxembourg (Luxembourg franc) 40.3399
• Netherlands (Netherlands guilder) 2.20371
• Portugal (Portuguese escudo) 200.482
• Spain (Spanish peseta) 166.386

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OECD International Trade by Commodities Statistics Documentation

The OECD ITCS Definitions and Country Notes provides information on series definitions, reporting country notes, a list of partner countries and country zones.

The OECD International Trade by Commodities Statistics hosted by ESDS International are delivered via Beyond 20/20 WDS. A worked example using Beyond 20/20 WDS and the OECD Main Economic Indicators is available in [html] and [pdf] formats.

Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader software to read documents in pdf format. You can download it free of charge from the Adobe website.

OECD Terms and Conditions

As part of the ESDS online registration process, you are required to accept the End User License conditions of use before being allowed access to the data. In addition, the following additional special conditions of use apply to the OECD databases (hereinafter called the "Work") obtained through the Economic and Social Data Service (hereinafter called the "ESDS"):

1. The Work is the subject of copyright and the sole and exclusive ownership of the OECD (hereinafter called the "Publisher").
2. Registered Users of the ESDS (hereinafter called "End Users") agree
   1. to refrain from any distribution whatsoever (commercial, gratuitous or otherwise) of the Work obtained through the ESDS;
   2. to use the Work for private or other personal use only;
   3. not to infringe upon the integrity of the Work they have downloaded by means of data transmission, and in particular to refrain from any act of alteration of the Work, such as abbreviation, re-organisation, re-structuring thereof.
3. The Publisher does not warrant, and shall not be liable for, the accuracy and completeness of the Work. He shall not be responsible for any damage caused through the conversion of the Work into machine-readable form, electronic storage or distribution to End Users by means of online data transmission.
4. The Publisher shall not be held responsible for inaccuracies or errors contained in the data provided to the ESDS or for errors or omissions in the documentation relating to the Work.

Applications for permission to reproduce all or part of these OECD databases should be made to:

OECD publications
2 rue André-Pascal
75775 PARIS CEDEX 16
France

For further information: http://www.oecd.org/publications

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Countries in the OECD International Trade by Commodities Statistics database

Reporting countries : OECD Member countries plus China, Hong-Kong-China, and Chinese Taipei and EU15

The OECD publishes data received directly form the Statistical Office of the European Communities (EUROSTAT) under the name EU15 – Extra EU, which excludes Intra-EU trade (cf. definitions: Differences between OECD statistics and Community statistics of Eurostat).

Partner countries (260 different countries)

Please see the OECD ITCS Definitions and Country Notes for reporting country notes and a list of partner countries and country zones.

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Periodicity and Time Range

The OECD International Trade by Commodities Statistics contains annual data and runs from 1961 onwards (the 2005 version of the database contains data up to 2004).

The OECD International Trade by Commodities Statistics at ESDS International is updated annually. See the new data page for the latest update information.

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