RELEVANCE
11.13 Relevance refers to how well the statistics meet the needs of users. It can be assessed by considering the purpose or aim of the data collection, compliance against relevant international standards and the use of the statistics.
CUSTOMS DATA
11.14 International merchandise trade statistics are compiled from customs declarations. The DIBP Annual Plan states that their mission is to: 'Protect the safety, security and commercial interests of Australians through border protection designed to support legitimate trade and travel and ensure collection of border revenue and trade statistics'.
11.15 Details of exports and imports of goods with values greater than or equal to the respective thresholds ($2,000 for exports and $1,000 for imports) must be entered on customs declarations prior to exit from, or entry into, Australia. The detailed information provided on customs declarations ensures the relevance of the data as it includes: the commodity classification and a description of the goods, the value, quantity, gross weight, country of origin or country of final destination, and where appropriate, port of loading, port of discharge, mode of transport, export goods type and duty related fields.
11.16 The exclusion of small value records has historically had a limited impact on the relevance of the statistics but the impact has increased in recent years due to the ease of individuals purchasing goods over the internet. Estimates of the value of trade below the thresholds are included in balance of payments statistics and the ABS has recently reviewed the quality of those estimates.
STATISTICAL STANDARDS AND CLASSIFICATIONS
11.17 The ABS actively promotes the use of international standards for compiling international merchandise trade and other economic statistics to ensure comparability across its own economic collections and outputs and those of other statistical organisations. The conceptual framework followed for Australia's international merchandise trade statistics is broadly consistent with the international standards set out in the UN publication IMTS 2010. The various editions of this standard have been developed over many years and involved the input of international organisations, national statistical agencies and other experts (academics and users). Periodic updates are necessary to accommodate changes in the way international merchandise trade is conducted, e.g. increasing globalisation.
11.18 Australia's international merchandise trade statistics align with many of the recommendations contained in IMTS 2010. The standards are applied with consideration to the availability of timely and accurate information and the requirements of Australian data providers and users. For example, to enable accurate reporting by exporters and importers the unit of quantity required on customs declarations reflects the unit in use and most relevant to the Australian industry.
HOW THE DATA ARE USED
11.19 A wide variety of organisations (government, business, national and international) and individuals use international merchandise trade statistics. The data use varies from information about a single commodity to access to the complete aggregate (confidentialised) dataset. While some statistical users access the data periodically, many users of international merchandise trade statistics subscribe to and use monthly data on a regular basis.
11.20 International merchandise trade statistics are based on a large number of individual transactions and are released at a very detailed aggregated level e.g. 8 digit exports and 10 digit imports commodity by Australian port, country and overseas port. The statistics, in conjunction with other related economic statistics, are used to analyse Australia's external trade performance, formulate and evaluate macroeconomic policy (including trade policy, trade treaties and foreign investment policy), analyse trends in income, capital flows and patterns of investment into and out of the economy, and to undertake international comparisons. When ensuring the quality of all the detailed international merchandise trade statistics, most resources are focussed on the data required for macroeconomic statistics.
11.21 Import and export statistics have been released by the ABS for over 100 years. The longevity of the statistics indicates the ongoing usefulness of the data.
11.22 The relevance of international merchandise trade statistics are enhanced by the inclusion of feature articles or additional releases about the statistics. A list of articles is included on the ABS website.
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