Introduction

Data collection
Information on external trade is primarily based on customs declarations for imports and exports. The customs authorities register import and export declarations and the data is available on-line to Statistics Iceland. This data is checked and corrected as far as possible. Frequently the importer or exporter concerned is contacted in order to obtain further information or make corrections.

Data on external trade is gathered from other sources as well. Thus the Icelandic Directorate of Shipping (Register of Vessels) and the Civil Aviation Administration, Flight Safety Department, supply information regarding purchases and sales of ships and aircraft and the importers or exporters concerned are contacted for further details. The Directorate of Shipping provides information on ships sent for conversions abroad. The companies concerned are subsequently contacted for closer details. As regards improvements of foreign vessels carried out by Icelandic companies, information is obtained from the relevant companies.

Coverage

In general, Statistics Iceland follows the guidelines contained in the "United Nations: International Trade Statistics, Concepts and Definitions" as regards what to include in external trade statistics, how and when. The statistics extend to merchandise trade, and by a general definition any imports or exports which add to or subtract from the stock of material resources of a country should be included in external trade statistics. A distinction is made between two systems of international trade statistics, the general trade system and special trade system. The main difference between these systems involves the method of registering goods imported to customs bonded warehouses and free zones. According to the general trade system an item of goods is registered as external trade on entry into a bonded warehouse or free zone, whereas according to the special trade system such an item would be registered on entry into a country from a bonded warehouse or free zone. In Iceland the special trade system is employed from mid year 1998.

The following are examples of items included in Icelandic external trade statistics:
- Non-monetary gold
- Postal items exceeding the value of 25,000 ISK
- Goods for processing
- Goods with a high value of service content (computer software etc.)
- Marine vessels and aircraft that engage in international transport
- Fish landed from foreign fishing vessels in Icelandic ports
- Fish sold abroad from Icelandic vessels and from convenience-flag vessels owned by Icelandic nationals
- Goods on financial lease (one year or more)
- Goods returned
- Major improvements and repair trade

The following are examples of items not included in Icelandic external trade statistics:
- Goods in transit
- Goods on temporary admission (e.g. imports or exports related to various exhibitions)
- Bunkers, stores, ballast and dunnage acquired abroad for Icelandic vessels or aircraft
- Illegal trade
- Goods consigned by the government to its embassies and diplomatic representatives abroad and goods supplied to foreign embassies and diplomatic representatives stationed in Iceland
- Monetary gold
- Goods on operational lease (less than one year)
- Samples of small value
- Purchased or sold convenience-flag vessels
- Fish landed in Icelandic ports by convenience-flag fishing vessels owned by Icelandic nationals
- Trade with the Keflavík Airport Defence Force
- Sales at Keflavík Airport

Classification

The classification of goods in external trade is based on the nomenclature of the Icelandic Customs Tariff. The current Tariff entered into force on 1 January 1988 according to the Customs Act No. 96/1987, amending the Customs Act No. 55/1987. The tariff is based on the international Nomenclature of the Customs Cooperation Council in Brussels. The international classification is entitled the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, also known in abbreviated form as HS. The Harmonized System was adopted by an international convention of the Customs Cooperation Council signed in Brussels in June 1983 and published in 1985. Iceland was party to this convention and ratified it in June 1986. The HS code entered into force in most of the member states of the Customs Cooperation Council on 1 January 1988. According to the Customs Act the Customs Tariff may be changed by an advertisment in the Official Gazette. Such changes have been made each year, e.g. to incorporate changes in the HS.

The HS is a six-digit nomenclature in which the first two digits form chapters numbered 01-97, the goods being classified according to material. States that have signed the Harmonized System Convention have committed themselves to employ this six-digit system while being free to use a more detailed classification with a greater number of digits at the national level. The Icelandic Customs Tariff is an eight-digit classification that complies with the six digits of the HS with the addition of two digits that are used in some instances for a more detailed breakdown according to Icelandic requirements. The HS includes just over 5,000 numbers whereas there were close to 6,800 numbers in the current Icelandic Tariff. In 2002, imports to Iceland were registered under 5,848 tariff numbers while exports were recorded under only 1,797 numbers.

In two of the largest tables in this publication (Tables IV and V) each tariff number is followed by a corresponding commodity number according to the Standard International Trade Classification, SITC, as laid down by the United Nations Statistics Division. The SITC is intended for classifying commodities for the production of statistics, based on the principle of aggregating related goods into groups and divisions. The classification includes a total of 3,118 commodity items. Statistics Iceland adopted SITC, Rev. 3, in the beginning of 1988 when the new Customs Tariff entered into force. A detailed analysis of exports and imports by SITC numbers is found in the Statistics Iceland publication, Icelandic External Trade, Commodities and countries.

Countries

Statistics Iceland defines countries according to the international standard ISO-3166.

Division between countries is based on country of consumption as regards exports and country of production as regards imports. Thus an attempt is made to identify the final destination of exported goods and the country of origin in case of imports rather than the country of sale or purchase or the importing or exporting country as the case may be. On occasion, however, exporters have no knowledge of the final destination of their merchandise, nor importers of the country of origin, and in such cases the importing or exporting countries are registered.

Value

The value of an imported item of good is either presented at cif or fob value while exports are presented at fob value only. The fob (free on board) value means the price for the item when it is on board whatever means of transport in the country of export. Cif (cost, insurance, freight) value also includes costs induced until the item is unloaded in the country of import. This chiefly involves freight rates and insurance costs. It is customary in external trade statistics to present imports at their cif value and exports at their fob value. For reasons of national accounts production and various statistical analysis, however, both these methods have been applied to present imports in Table V. According to the nature of the case, the general rule does not apply to fresh fish sold in foreign ports. In order to determine prices for this category of exports, certain cost items are subtracted from the gross-price value in varying proportions, depending on the country.

Figures on the value of imports are reached by converting the foreign currency value of the commodity to Icelandic krónur (ISK) at the selling exchange rate of the currency concerned. Export figures, on the other hand, are based on buying rates of exchange. The reference rate of exchange is a so-called customs exchange rate, which is the official exchange rate as registered by the Central Bank of Iceland on the 28th of each month or, in case that date is not a working day, on the first following working day.

Quantity

Quantity of imports and exports refers to net weight (i.e. weight without packaging) in tonnes unless otherwise specified. Under several tariff numbers in Tables IV and V quantity has been recorded in other units, i.e. cubic metres (wood), by piece (various kinds of clothing, cars, ships, aircraft etc.), pairs (shoes) or litres (wine).

Table material

Table I shows exports and imports by Customs Tariff chapters in 2002. These chapters refer to the first two digits of the eight-digit tariff number.
Table II shows exports and imports by countries in 2001 and 2002.
Table III shows the buying and selling rates of exchange for major currencies in 2002 and changes from the previous year.
Tables IV and V show a breakdown of imports and exports by tariff numbers and countries. In both tables the tariff number is printed in bold face to the left in each column, immediately followed by the corresponding SITC number in brackets. Tariff numbers in the two tables are omitted when there has not been any import or export in 2002 of the items concerned. When the value of imports from one country or exports to it amounts to less than ISK 500,000 under the same tariff number, figures have been combined under the heading "Önnur lönd" (Other countries) or "Ýmis lönd" (Various countries) except when only one country is involved, in which case the country is specified. Tariff numbers are published with texts that are abbreviated forms of the Customs Tariff texts. Appendix 3 shows an extract of the Customs Tariff Index covering the majority of commodities listed in the tariff with references to the corresponding tariff numbers.

Information on external trade from Statistics Iceland

Information on Icelandic external trade is drawn from the Statistics Iceland database; it is published or can be accessed as follows:
- In Hagtíðindi (Monthly Statistics), published by Statistics Iceland.
- In Landshagir (Statistical Yearbook of Iceland), published by Statistics Iceland.
- In Utanríkisverslun 2002 eftir tollskárnúmerum (External Trade 2002 by HS numbers, yearbook).
- In Utanríkisverslun 2002, vöruflokkar og viðskiptalönd, web publication.
- In Icelandic External Trade 2002, Commodities and countries, yearbook, which is an English version of Utanríkis-verslun 2002, vöruflokkar og viðskiptalönd.
- In news releases, issued on completion of each month’s data processing.
- In Hagskinna, Icelandic Historical Statistics. This publication contains historical data on external trade.
- On the homepage of Statistics Iceland (www.statice.is).
- By means of on-line connection with the Statistics Iceland database, which provides information on exports and imports by HS numbers, SITC numbers, months and countries. Information is available on weight, fob value and cif value for imports and weight and fob for exports.
- Finally, information on external trade from the Statistics Iceland database is available on printouts, computer diskettes or by e-mail, subscribed or by request.