Official Statistics

UK trade in goods by business characteristics 2023: guidance notes

Published 27 November 2024

General notes

Official statistics

Following an ongoing assessment of methodologies and data sources, HMRC has removed the ‘in-development’ status from its ​‘UK trade in goods by business characteristics’ release. These statistics are now ‘Official statistics’.

Official statistics are statistics produced by Crown bodies and other organisations listed within an Official Statistics Order, on behalf of the UK government or devolved administrations. They provide a factual basis for assessment and decisions on economic, social and environmental issues at all levels of society.

These statistics are in line with the Government Statistical Service (GSS) Code of Practice for Statistics. These cover:

• Trustworthiness
• Quality
• Value

To do this we use the same processes used in the production of the UK overseas trade in goods statistics (OTS). The OTS are accredited official statistics published monthly. It was assessed for compliance with the Code of Practice in 2010.

UK trade in goods by business characteristics is compiled to serve the needs of many users, including:

• governments
• business communities
• compilers of other economic statistics
• various regional and international organisations
• researchers
• the public

These statistics are also used for:

• press queries
• Parliamentary questions
• Freedom of Information requests
• other government departments who rely on HMRC’s data to inform evidence-based policies

The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) regulate our statistics. They set the standards in the Code of Practice. All producers of official statistics should meet these standards.

The UK overseas trade in goods statistics methodology and quality report is available for users. It shows how HMRC statistics meet the standards in the Code of Practice.

If you have any comments about how we meet these standards, you are welcome to contact us by emailing [email protected]

Or you can contact OSR by emailing [email protected] or via the OSR website.

Data sources

The UK overseas trade in goods statistics (OTS) has been combined with the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). The OTS is from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) data. The IDBR is released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The OTS shows the UK’s international trade in goods. Data breakdowns are shown by partner country and commodity. More information can be found in the Methodology paper for UK trade in goods statistics .

The IDBR is a list of UK businesses. These are used by the government for statistical purposes. More information can be found on the ONS information page for the Inter-Departmental Business Register.

Methodology

Since the release of the 2021 data, data source changes have affected the methodology for producing these statistics.

In 2021, the Intrastat survey was kept for data purposes for UK imports from the EU above the Intrastat threshold. Before this, VAT returns were used to capture trade below the Intrastat threshold. From 2021 however, VAT returns only captured information on Northern Ireland (NI) trade with the EU. This meant that there was no data on trade below the Intrastat threshold for GB imports from the EU.

It was therefore not possible to accurately produce business characteristics for UK imports from the EU for 2021. They were excluded from the 2021 data. Only the non-EU portion of import statistics were compiled.

As from 2022, data on GB trade with the EU and UK trade with countries outside the EU are from Customs declarations. Data on NI imports from the EU are sourced from the Intrastat Survey for traders above the Intrastat threshold. For traders below the Intrastat threshold, this data is sourced from VAT returns.    

This has enabled a full imports dataset for all periods covered in this release.

However, it would be unsuitable to make data comparisons with earlier years in previous releases. This is because of the data source issues outlined above. It is also because this earlier years’ data is not corrected when unscheduled revisions are applied.

The OTS-IDBR data matching process

The VAT number of each business within the OTS data is linked to an enterprise on the IDBR.

If a match is not found, then a ‘fuzzy matching’ process on the name is attempted. The remaining unmatched VAT numbers are given an industry group by searching for matches in HMRC VAT records. Their business size and age are recorded as ‘Unknown’. A specific industry group is assigned to each business for all EU and non-EU imports and exports.

The attributes of an enterprise are assessed before it is chosen. This is because there are several that could be chosen where VAT registrations cover a group of businesses. The assessment is made through the following measures:

Step 1: At the first level of assessment, the enterprises with the largest turnover are chosen.

Step 2: If there are multiple enterprises with the same turnover, we select the enterprise with the highest employee count.

Step 3: If multiple enterprises have the same employee count, we select the enterprise with the earliest birthdate.

Step 4: If multiple enterprises have the same birthdate, we select the one linked to the oldest 12-digit VAT registration.

We make the assumption that trade is more likely to be carried out by businesses with the highest turnover and employee count. We also assume that older businesses are more likely to carry out trade as they are more established.

Comparison with other HMRC publications

Comparison with OTS publication:

The trade value totals do not match the OTS for two reasons. Both reasons relate to EU trade.

The first reason is that data in this publication does not include non-response estimates, however, the OTS does.

The second reason is that the contribution of traders below the Intrastat threshold for EU trade has been recalculated on a per trader basis. It has not been allocated to individual EU countries. This method closely replicates the one used for the estimation of below threshold trade in the OTS. However, timing and other methodological differences mean there is not an exact match.

Comparison with Customs importer and exporter population 2022 release:

Data in this release doesn’t match the HMRC Customs importer and exporter publication. This is because they use different data sources and production methods. 

Source data for this publication is the UK overseas trade in goods statistics, which: 

• is a statistical dataset
• covers the UK’s international trade in goods at country and product level
• excludes low value trade in goods below £873 and 1,000kg net mass
• counts businesses at ‘enterprise’ level

Source data for the Customs importer and exporter publication is the Customs declarations, which: 

• is an administrative dataset
• covers movements between Great Britain and the EU, and UK and non-EU countries
• is compiled from CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight) and CDS (Customs Declaration Service)
• includes low value trade
• counts businesses at ‘Economic Operator Registration and Identification’ (EORI) level

Comparison with the HMRC UK regional trade in goods statistics (RTS) releases:

Data in this release will not match the published RTS data. This is due to different production methods.

This release counts businesses at the level of ‘enterprise’. The RTS counts at the level of ‘VAT-registration’. Also, this release includes all UK trade in goods. The RTS excludes trade in non-monetary gold. Additionally, methods for estimating EU trade below the Intrastat threshold differ.

Other statistics available on the characteristics of UK exporters and importers

The ONS have also released statistics on the characteristics of UK exporters and importers. These are:

• ONS Annual Business Survey results

• ONS UK trade in goods by business characteristics

Data measures

Trade value

Trade value is the statistical value of trade in goods in GBP (£).

Business count

All businesses are included in counts for trade with the EU as a whole.

However, the counts of importers from or exporters to specific EU countries do not include those with trade below the Intrastat threshold.

This is because the EU partner data is not collected for these businesses.

In 2023, the Intrastat threshold was set at £500,000 for EU imports (NI imports from EU) and £250,000 for EU exports (NI exports to EU).

Employee count

The employee count is the total number of employees for a business. Users should note that employee count includes employees who are not directly involved in trade.

Data rounding in the UK trade in goods by business characteristics 2023 report

Values in the UK trade in goods by business characteristics 2023 report have been rounded to aid readability.

Users who need data for calculations should use the UK trade in goods by business characteristics 2023: data tables.

Rounding in the report follows the schedule below:

Value range	Rounding range
Less than 100	Not applicable – exact data published
100 to 999	Nearest 10
1000 to 9999	Nearest 100
10,000 to 999,999	Nearest 1,000
1 million to 999,999,999	Written out to nearest 100,000. For example, 1.3 million
1 billion and over	Written out to nearest 100 million. For example, 1.3 billion

Suppressions (data tables)

The statistics in this release need active disclosure control. To do this, data has been suppressed using HMRC suppression rules. These are in line with guidance from the  Government Statistical Service (GSS).

Where the data has been suppressed, extra suppressions (masks) may have been used. This makes it impossible to calculate the contents of suppressed cells. All suppressed cells are shown as ‘Suppressed’.

Data categories

Industry groups 1 to 10

The industry groups in this release are derived from the UK Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC).

The industry group is the main activity of a business. Businesses trade in their main activity but may also trade in goods outside of this classification. The data in this release includes all traded goods.

Industry group to SIC correlation table

Industry group	SIC codes included
Group 1: Agriculture and food	01-03, 10-17
Group 2: Mining, petroleum products and waste	05-09, 19, 24, 35-39
Group 3: Chemicals	20
Group 4: Pharmaceuticals	21
Group 5: Electronic and electrical equipment	26, 27
Group 6: Machinery and equipment n.e.s.	28
Group 7: Motor vehicles, transport equipment (excluding aerospace)	29, 301, 302, 304, 309
Group 8: Aerospace and related machinery	303
Group 9: Other manufacturing	18, 22, 23, 25, 31, 32
Group 10: Services	33, 41-43, 45-47, 49-53, 55,56, 58-66, 68-75, 77-82, 84-88, 90-99

Group 1 includes Clothing. This note acts to highlight Group 1’s agricultural component, which can include textile produce.

Group 7 excludes aerospace.

Group 10 includes only those businesses in the Services industry that trade in goods. The data provides the value of goods, business counts and employee counts for these businesses. It does not provide information on the value of services from these businesses. The business counts and employee counts do not include services industry businesses that do not trade in goods.

SIC codes 04, 34, 40, 48, 54, 57, 67, 76, 83, 89 do not currently exist.

Business size

Business size is based on the total number of employees within a business.
This release has the following business size categories:

• zero employees - examples include sole traders and partnerships
• 1 to 9, 10 to 49, or 50 to 249 employees - these are collectively known as Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
• 250 or more employees - these are known as Large businesses

Age of business

The age of a business is determined by the birth date and death date of the enterprise, and not the underlying VAT-registered business.  This maintains consistency within the data; Each business will always have the same birth date and death date for all EU and non-EU imports and exports.

This release has the following age categories (in years):

 0 to 1, 2 to 3, 4 to 5, 6 to 9, 10 to 20, Over 20

Unknown category

Unknown industry group, unknown size, and unknown age

A business may be classified within the ‘Unknown’ category for industry group, business size, or age group where:

• the trading VAT or EORI number is invalid
• IDBR data is unavailable for the business
• the business is in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man, or is overseas-based with a VAT presence in the UK

The UK Government is placed in the Unknown category for employee count. However, it is categorised under the ‘250 or more’ group for business size.

Unknown trade value

The following trade by a business may be classified within ‘Unknown’:

Parcel post trade that is dealt with centrally (trade with non-EU only). This is placed in the Unknown category for industry group, business size and age group.

EU trade in oil and gas that cannot be linked to a VAT number. This is placed in the Unknown category for business size and age group. The industry group is estimated from HMRC records on businesses trading similar goods.

Users should be aware that declared trade lines of less than £873 and 1,000kg are below the statistical threshold. They are included as part of ‘low value trade’.

Business characteristics are not able to be produced for low value trade. There is no business specific data for this trade.

Partner countries (data tables)

Data for specific partner countries is available. These countries have been selected based on their status as the top EU and non-EU partner countries for the UK based on value of trade.

EU countries:

Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden.

Non-EU countries:

Algeria, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Greenland, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, USA, Vietnam.

These geographical groups are also provided:

EU (all EU partner countries combined), non-EU (all non-EU partner countries combined), World (all countries combined).

Definitions

Business

For the purpose of this release, the term ‘business’ is used to represent an enterprise. An enterprise is the combination of legal units that produces goods, services, or both, and makes its own decisions on business activity. This is particularly true for decisions on where to place its capital. An enterprise carries out one or more activities at one or more locations. An enterprise may be a sole legal unit.

The IDBR record of business characteristics such as industry group, size, and age is at the level of an enterprise. The business counts published in this release are counts of enterprises. The figures for value of trade are from trade declared to HMRC at the level of VAT-registered or EORI-registered businesses.

Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI)

EORI stands for ‘Economic Operator Registration and Identification’. HMRC gives these numbers to some UK businesses. This allows them to trade with non-EU countries.

Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) 

SME stands for ‘Small and medium-sized enterprise’. In this release, SMEs are defined as businesses with 1 to 249 employees. Some other statistical releases may define them as businesses with fewer than 250 employees and therefore include businesses with zero employees within this definition.