Product description: Foreign Trade Statistics by enterprise size 2005 (yearly survey)

Purpose of use and statutory basis

Foreign Trade Statistics describes the commodity trade between Finland and other Member States of the European Union (EU) and between Finland and Third Countries i.e. internal and external trade. Foreign Trade Statistics is the official information source of the importation, exportation, and balance of trade of Finland. Foreign Trade Statistics is an instrument of importance for decision makers, planners, and researchers in the public and private sectors, as well as in their operations in EU and many international organisations.

Foreign Trade Statistics is based on the legislation of the European Community, as well as on the national Customs Act of Finland (1466/94) and the Statistics Act (280/2004). The EU legislation is divided in two parts. The Council's basic regulation on internal trade statistics (EEC) No 3330/91 provides the methodological basis for the statistics on internal trade, furthermore the Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/95 lays down provisions as regards statistics on external trade, i.e. trade of the community and its member states with third countries.

Concepts, definitions, and classifications

Statistical registration of goods is based on the Combined Nomenclature (CN). The Combined Nomenclature is based on a Harmonized Description and Coding System (World Customs Organisation WCO) and applied in the European Community for tariffing and compilation of statistics.

Exportation is registered according to the country of destination for its FOB value ("free on board"). Importation is registered according to the country of origin for its CIF value ("cost, insurance and freight"). In the Foreign Trade by Enterprise Size Survey, the statistical material has also been compiled according to following classification:

- According to the type of activity; Classification of Products by Activities (CPA)

- Standard industrial classification by EC; Nomenclature générale des Activités économiques dans les Communautés européennes (NACE 2002). The enterprise receives a NACE-code which is based on its main area of economic activity.

-Information on enterprise size has been produced by Statistics Finland. The latest information is from the year 2004. The enterprise sizes are classified as follows:

  • micro-enterprises are enterprises with less than 10 employees. In addition to this condition, they must have an annual turnover of less than 2 million euros or an annual balance-sheet total of less than 2 million euros
  • small enterprises are enterprises with less than 50 employees. In addition to this condition, their annual turnover must be less than 10 million euros or their annual balance-sheet total of less than 10 million euros
  • medium-sized enterprises are enterprises with less than 250 employees. In addition, to this condition, they should have an annual turnover which is less than 50 million euros or their annual balance-sheet total should be less than 43 million euros
  • SMEs is a definition for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. In this survey these three groups form together a combined class, which represents SMEs
  • large enterprises have more than 250 employees. Also enterprises, which have an annual turnover over 50 million euros and an annual balance-sheet total of more than 43 million euros, are defined as large enterprises

The register of enterprises maintained by Statistics Finland contains registered information about foreign corporations for which information on employees and balance-sheet totals is not available. In connection to this survey, the classification by size has been created only on the basis of the annual turnover. However, there are actors for which it has not been possible to define an enterprise size category. Those have in this survey been grouped as an undefined -group.

Reliability and timing of the Foreign Trade Statistics

The survey has been published quarterly on regularly basis from the beginning of 2004. It will be published latest three months after the end of the statistical quarter.

The yearly survey is published latest six months after the end of the statistical year.



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