Valentina Ramaschiello, ESS
8 December 2011
• Who?
The Statistics Division, the Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Natural Resources
and the Forestry Departments
• What?
Since 2005 collaboration with the UN Statistics Division (UNSD) and the World
Customs Organization (WCO) in the review of:
- land classifications
 SEEA (System for Environmental and Economic Accounts)
- commodity classifications
 CPC (Central Product Classification)
 HS (Harmonized System)
• Why?
Strong need for major international schemes to be suitable for agriculture and
food statistics, facilitating the harmonization and comparison of data across
different countries and statistical domains
• Review of CPC and HS
• CPC expanded for agriculture and food statistics
• Questionnaire on National Agriculture and Food
Production Classifications
• Database on Commodity Classifications
Custodian: United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)
Current version: Ver.2 (2008)
Purpose:
• to provide a framework for the international comparison of statistics dealing with
products
• to serve as a guide for developing or revising existing classification schemes of
products in order to make them compatible with international standards
• to enhance harmonization across various fields of economic and related statistics
Coverage: general purpose classification, includes goods and services which are output
from economic activities and generally follows the definition for products used in the
SNA
Structure: five-digits structure; each subclass of CPC consists of goods or services that
are predominantly produced in a specific ISIC class or classes
Governance mechanism
• Review cycle: every 5 years
• The Expert Group on International Classifications (EG), coordinated by
UNSD, aims at developing a strategy for the convergence of international
classifications
• The group meets at least every two years and reports to the United Nations
Statistical Commission (UNSC) following each meeting
• Specific technical, analytical or exploratory tasks are carried out by
Technical Subgroups (TSG) of the Expert Group
• Members of the EG are representatives from International Organizations,
countries, custodians, major users of international statistical classifications
and experts in the development and application of international
classifications
International
FAO
CPC rev.
FAO
FAO is a member of the EG and of the TSG for the CPC revision
Custodian: World Customs Organization (WCO)
Current version: 2007 (2012 forthcoming)
Purpose: 206 countries, territories or customs or economic unions utilize it as the basis
for Customs tariffs and for the compilation trade statistics
Trade nomenclature most widely used in the world; it is a detailed listing of commodities
rather than a proper classification for the purpose of organizing official statistics
Coverage: goods; commodities are generally classified according to raw or basic
material, to the degree of processing, to the use or function and economic activities
Structure: six-digits structure
Governance mechanism
• Review cycle: every 5 years
• The WCO manages this process through the Harmonized System Committee
(representing the Contracting Parties to the HS Convention), and more specifically
through its HS Review Sub-Committee (RSC)
• The HS Committee and RSC meet twice a year; they examines policy matters, takes
decisions on classification questions, settles disputes and prepares amendments to
the Explanatory Notes
• The HS Committee and RSC are attended by WCO member countries; International
Organizations are also invited to participate with the status of “observer”, they have a
consultative role but not voting power (differently from countries)
WCO Council
Harmonized System
Committee
FAO
HS Review Sub-Committee
FAO
FAO is an observer member of the HS Committee and of the HS RSC
Aim:
 To increase proper detail and make CPC structure more suitable to meet
the needs of Agriculture (in CPC) and of Agriculture and Fisheries and
Aquaculture (in HS) production domains
Results of the reviews:
 CPC Ver.2 (finalized in 2008) includes 550 Agriculture items (more than
double compared to CPC Ver.1.1)
 HS 2012 (based on CPC Ver.2 finalized in 2011) includes more than 300
new Agriculture and Fisheries and Aquaculture items
• FAO proposal for revision of CPC Ver.2.1 submitted to the Expert
Group on International Classifications last May 2011
• Aim: to increase proper detail and make CPC Ver.2.1. structure
more suitable to meet the needs of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Aquaculture and Forestry production domains
(The inclusion of fishery and forestry items in the proposal for CPC Ver.2.1, besides
agriculture, represents an important improvement compared to the previous CPC
review round)
• The proposal is currently under review in the TSG. If accepted, it will
be submitted to the 43rd Session of the UN Statistical Commission in
February 2012
• HS 2017 Review commenced in November 2009 and is expected to
be completed by June 2014
• The revised version will enter into force on the 1st of January 2017
• FAO renewed its willingness to cooperate with the WCO for the
update and enhancement of the HS at the 42nd session of the RSC
(21-24 November 2011)
• Submission of the FAO proposal for HS 2017 is planned for the 43rd
session of the RSC (Brussels 21-25 May 2012). The proposal will
cover Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture and Forestry
(The inclusion of forestry items in the proposal for HS 2017 represents an
important improvement compared to the previous HS review round).
• CPC Ver.2 is more suitable for agriculture statistics than CPC Ver.1.1.
(too aggregated to be useful)
• FAO SCWG endorsed the implementation of CPC Ver.2 as reference
classification for agriculture and food production in FAO
WHY?
• Standardization of item names, titles, definitions, descriptions and data
groups
• Harmonization of official statistics at global level
• Comparability of statistical data over time and across countries
• Increase of “communication” among datasets
• Decrease of reporting burden for countries
• Problem: Detail on some food and agriculture products is still not
sufficient in CPC, particularly in terms of primary products of origin
• Reason: FAO is a sector-specific Organization and CPC is a general
purpose scheme
Solution: CPC EXPANDED FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
CPC structure at 5 digits added with a 6th digit
to accommodate more disaggregated agriculture and food data
Endorsement
The proposal of a CPC expanded was endorsed by the Expert Group
Meeting on International Classification in May 2011
The CPC expanded will be included as an official annex to the CPC
• Sent to countries and available online by the end of 2011
• Coordination with the UNSD National Classifications Registry and
the Global Inventory of Statistical Standard
Aim of the Questionnaire
• To assess countries’ practices and the extent to which international
standards are implemented, with a particular reference to the CPC
• To understand how classifications are managed, i.e. stored,
maintained and disseminated
• To identify country needs on technical assistance in this domain
Expected improvements from the Questionnaire
• To decrease countries’ reporting burden
• To appraise and enhance the harmonization of data on agriculture
and food production at the international level
• To frame capacity development programmes
• To enhance FAO’s data collection system
• To identify classifications focal points at the country level thus
facilitating and enhancing communication between FAO and countries
in this field
Main information asked
• Name of the classification (s) and coverage i.e. primary and/or
processed products
• Degree of coherence with international or regional (supra-national)
reference product classifications
• Availability of correspondence tables and explanatory notes
• How the classification is stored and managed (to be filled in by people
in charge of information systems)
• Capacity development/technical assistance needs
Countries are also asked to send their agriculture and food products
classification structure (codes and titles) and any documentation
describing it (correspondence tables and explanatory notes)
• To store and manage all information on FAOSTAT Commodity List (codes,
titles, Latin names, definitions etc.)
• To search by codes or by text specific information on commodities
classified in the FCL and correspondences between the FCL, CPC and HS
• National classifications and link to
FCL are also available (CountrySTAT)
The DB is currently located in a
development area and will be soon
available on the Statistics Division website
www.fao.org/economic/ess/en/
Thank you!
Valentina Ramaschiello
[email protected]
Definition
“Set of discrete, exhaustive and mutually exclusive observations which can be
assigned to one or more variables to be measured in the collation and/or
presentation of data”
United Nations Statistics Division
Purpose
• To provide a framework to collect and analyse data, and to report and
compare statistics at the international level
• To standardize statistical information, aggregate and disaggregate data sets
in a meaningful way
• To support policy and decision making
• Essential mechanisms for the harmonization and coordination of data
compilation at the global level
• Allow national data and indicators to be comparable with those of other
countries, thus facilitating countries inclusion in global statistical activities
• Can be adapted to national statistical and economic needs and conditions,
for better relevance and applicability
To ensure data comparability and harmonization at the global level,
international classifications should be taken as reference for the development
of regional and national classifications
International classifications are
applicable at the global level and
developed and maintained by
international organizations, which
are the custodian of these schemes
Regional classification are implemented
by regional organizations (supranational -e.g. AFRISTAT, EUROSTAT etc.-)
and applied by their member countries
National classifications are
country-specific schemes,
designed and applied by countries
CPC
Central Product Classification of the UN
NOPEMA
Nomenclature de Produits
des Etats Membres d’AFRISTAT
NPC
Nomenclature
des Produits
du Cameroun
NOPRIM
Nomenclature
des Produits
de la
Mauritanie
Other national
adaptations of
the NOPEMA
SEEA – System for Environmental and Economic Accounts
• In cooperation with the European Environmental Agency (EEA),
development of international standards for the classification of land
use and land cover to be included in the SEEA
• The final draft of the revised SEEA is now available for global
consultation on the UNSD SEEA website (open until 7 December)
• The revised SEEA will be submitted to the 43rd Session of the UN
Statistical Commission in February 2012