Inflation Adjusted HMRC Regional Trade Statistics for Scotland: Methodology

For assessment of the accuracy and reliability of the underlying data in this analysis, see the Regional trade in goods statistics methodology (HMRC).

It is worth noting that the apportionment of trade to UK regions is based on enterprise level employment shares. This methodology can have shortcomings for products which are exported by particularly large or complicated enterprises who have multiple locations across the UK.

The analysis in this report has been subject to quality assurance processes and credibility checks on the output. Procedures have been implemented to ensure that the CVM methodology is not applied in situations where it may produce inaccurate results, these include seasonally adjusting input data and removing erratic series from the analysis.

It should be noted that changes in the composition of trade within product categories can be only controlled for at SITC 2-digit level; reflecting the level of product granularity available in the RTS data. While price weights are updated annually, which will therefore adjust the price per kilo for each SITC 2 level category each year, it is recognized that more granular data would increase the accuracy of these statistics.

When interpreting statistics for imports it should be noted that import estimates are based on the country of dispatch rather than country of origin. The country from which goods arrive in Scotland is not necessarily the country from which the goods originated.