External trade in goods

Updated: 16 September 2024

Next update: 15 October 2024

Exports
Exports
August 2024
153.2
NOK Billion
 
External trade in goods. Month and so far this year
External trade in goods. Month and so far this year1
NOK BillionChange in per centNOK Billion - so far this yearChange in per cent - so far this year
August 2024July 2024 - August 2024August 2023 - August 2024August 2024August 2023 - August 2024
Exports153.26.26.21 175.5-5.9
Crude oil43.4-9.0-4.1370.96.4
Natural gas52.325.925.9339.1-20.5
Ships and oil platforms0.3.1 087.02.1-19.2
Mainland exports56.95.30.0459.5-1.8
Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and prep. thereof14.115.75.3103.2-1.1
Imports87.21.99.4687.11.4
Ships and oil platforms1.7309.365.38.3-11.2
The trade balance66.012.52.4488.4-14.5
The mainland trade balance-28.68.1-31.1-219.4-9.4
1Due to the data collection method, the preliminary monthly figures published for ships and oil platforms are often incomplete. In retrospect, therefore, the trade in these goods could in some cases lead to major corrections in the figures.
Explanation of symbols

Selected tables and charts from this statistics

  • Imports of goods, main groups by SITC. Month and so far this year
    Imports of goods, main groups by SITC. Month and so far this year1
    NOK MillionChange in per centNOK MillionChange in per cent
    August 2023August 2024August 2023 -August 2024So far this yearAugust 2023 -August 2024
    August 2023August 2024
    Total79 72087 1959.4677 664687 1191.4
    Of which:
    Ships and oil platforms (part of SITC 793)1 0401 71965.39 2918 253-11.2
    Imports excl. Ships and oil platforms78 68085 4768.6668 373678 8661.6
    0 Food and live animals6 9246 717-3.048 50450 6284.4
    00 Live animals other than animals of div.032318-23.4171142-17.2
    01 Meat and meat preparations204112-45.01 3651 284-6.0
    02 Dairy products and birds' eggs2042228.51 7061 91012.0
    03 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and prep. thereof740445-39.84 1614 2281.6
    04 Cereals and cereal preparations8108899.86 0726 87113.1
    05 Vegetables and fruit1 2811 3676.812 05012 5454.1
    06 Sugars, sugar prepatations and honey2652753.61 8452 0018.5
    07 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices57074430.54 2364 76512.5
    08 Feeding stuff for animals (not cereals)2 0831 870-10.211 70211 299-3.4
    09 Miscellaneous edible products7447744.15 1955 5837.5
    1 Beverages and tobacco1 1591 2013.610 24710 5693.1
    11 Beverages776771-0.77 2116 969-3.4
    12 Tobacco and tobacco manufactures38343012.43 0363 59918.6
    2 Crude materials, inedible, except fuels5 1675 2832.245 12343 803-2.9
    21 Hides, skins and furskins, raw74-47.940424.4
    22 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits300237-21.02 0191 659-17.9
    23 Crude rubber162980.41391422.2
    24 Wood, lumber and cork494443-10.23 7533 664-2.4
    25 Pulp and waste paper385954.734155462.5
    26 Textile fibres and their waste1412-11.51051159.4
    27 Crude fertilizers and crude minerales59780134.14 6845 35814.4
    28 Metalliferous ores and metal scrap3 3863 4000.431 32829 707-5.2
    29 Crude animal and vegetable materials314297-5.52 7132 562-5.6
    3 Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials6 4216 138-4.456 83351 034-10.2
    32 Coal, coke and briquettes3323340.63 7662 879-23.6
    33 Petroleum, petroleum products5 9305 534-6.746 12443 359-6.0
    334 Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (other than crude); preparations, n.e.s., containing by weight 70% or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparation4 4885 00511.534 39036 7136.8
    34 Gas , natural and manufactured9211929.31 2491 146-8.2
    342 Liquefied propane and butane548964.2939860-8.4
    35 Electric current66151127.15 6943 649-35.9
    4 Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes2 0711 962-5.210 04911 82517.7
    41 Animal oils and fats1 2241 046-14.65 1636 72330.2
    42 Fixed vegetable fats and oils, crude, refined or fractionated804801-0.34 5584 5610.1
    43 Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed43115168.732854164.8
    5 Chemicals and related products n.e.s.8 6589 61611.172 70677 3766.4
    51 Organic chemicals1 283961-25.18 7538 496-2.9
    52 Inorganic chemicals71296535.57 6807 560-1.6
    53 Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials3884054.23 1653 1950.9
    54 Medicinal and pharmaceutical products2 3742 79717.818 76122 91522.1
    55 Essential oils and resinoids etc1 0491 0954.48 0669 49917.8
    56 Fertilizers35042722.34 0153 566-11.2
    57 Plastics in primary forms571548-4.24 4054 339-1.5
    58 Plastics in non-primary forms701687-2.06 0686 032-0.6
    59 Chemical materials and products, n.e.s.1 2301 73140.811 79311 774-0.2
    6 Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material10 59811 4838.487 38192 3915.7
    61 Leather, leather manufactures, furskins5534-38.1335334-0.3
    62 Rubber manufactures, n.e.s.7117120.15 1555 111-0.9
    63 Cork and wood manufactures748714-4.66 1275 769-5.8
    64 Paper, paperboard and manufactures thereof8769063.57 0596 863-2.8
    65 Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles928927-0.27 3897 3940.1
    66 Non-metallic mineral manufactures, n.e.s.1 0521 0933.98 4578 055-4.8
    67 Iron and steel1 8572 45432.214 43718 21826.2
    68 Non-ferrous metals9011 26340.28 9949 8209.2
    69 Manufactures of metals, n.e.s.3 4723 381-2.629 42830 8274.8
    7 Machinery and transport equipment27 06132 04118.4256 912258 9810.8
    71 Power generating machinery and equipment1 2722 21374.011 28115 25935.3
    72 Machinery for special industries2 6922 565-4.726 28224 950-5.1
    73 Metal working machinery239229-4.22 0312 0772.3
    74 General industrial machinery and equipment4 6124 146-10.137 42937 313-0.3
    75 Office machines, data processing machines2 2404 13484.615 87527 73674.7
    76 Telecommunications apparatus and equipment2 6462 6640.722 30322 9282.8
    77 Electrical machinery and apparatus5 1485 5457.741 88042 4951.5
    78 Road vehicles6 3397 42617.278 68666 409-15.6
    781 Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons3 6024 59927.747 52435 260-25.8
    79 Other transport equipment including ships1 8743 11966.421 14619 814-6.3
    8 Miscellaneous manufactured articles11 43312 5439.788 37288 9460.6
    81 Prefabricated buildings8491 09228.66 6436 390-3.8
    82 Furniture and parts thereof1 5661 503-4.012 94312 406-4.1
    83 Travel goods, handbags etc.290288-0.61 9182 0054.5
    84 Articles of apparel and accessories2 8182 8591.517 62317 7890.9
    85 Footwear70379913.65 1614 911-4.8
    87 Professional and scientific instruments1 6872 15027.514 62417 26318.1
    88 Photographic and optical goods3743904.12 9723 1706.7
    89 Miscellaneous manufactured articles, n.e.s3 1453 46210.126 48925 012-5.6
    9 Other commodities and transactions227211-7.01 5361 5672.0
    91 Postal packages not classified according to kind00.00.
    93 Special transactions and commodities not classified according to kind133112-15.9858770-10.3
    96 Coin (other than gold coin), not being legal tender1198.74118-56.9
    97 Gold, non-monetary (excluding gold, ores and concentrates)93984.963778022.3
    1Standard International Trade Classification, Revision 4 (SITC, Rev. 4)
    Explanation of symbols
  • Exports of goods, main groups by SITC. Month and so far this year
    Exports of goods, main groups by SITC. Month and so far this year1
    NOK MillionChange in per centNOK MillionChange in per cent
    August 2023August 2024August 2023 -August 2024So far this yearAugust 2023 -August 2024
    August 2023August 2024
    Total144 173153 1676.21 249 0521 175 507-5.9
    Of which:
    Crude oil (part of SITC 333)45 27743 435-4.1348 751370 9096.4
    Natural gas (SITC 343)41 53752 31125.9426 628339 079-20.5
    Natural gas condensates (part of SITC 333)447243-45.63 1963 89721.9
    Ships and oil platforms (part of SITC 793)232731 087.02 6572 146-19.2
    Mainland exports56 88956 9050.0467 821459 477-1.8
    0 Food and live animals14 42415 0434.3112 413110 943-1.3
    00 Live animals other than animals of div.0325116.610247-54.4
    01 Meat and meat preparations293420.422926716.9
    02 Dairy products and birds' eggs111325.614817015.3
    03 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and prep. thereof13 41114 1255.3104 399103 249-1.1
    04 Cereals and cereal preparations6161-0.25555936.8
    05 Vegetables and fruit2322-3.9210201-4.4
    06 Sugars, sugar prepatations and honey54-10.14437-15.7
    07 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices567533.24194456.3
    08 Feeding stuff for animals (not cereals)599484-19.24 3223 891-10.0
    09 Miscellaneous edible products227219-3.51 9852 0422.9
    1 Beverages and tobacco11298-12.781092113.6
    11 Beverages11096-12.479789512.4
    12 Tobacco and tobacco manufactures22-28.0142688.1
    2 Crude materials, inedible, except fuels2 1712 51015.618 84021 12812.1
    21 Hides, skins and furskins, raw1412-16.32122140.8
    22 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits00-33.353-32.8
    23 Crude rubber64-36.05049-2.0
    24 Wood, lumber and cork5045111.34 4365 12415.5
    25 Pulp and waste paper32240726.22 7303 07612.7
    26 Textile fibres and their waste3633-6.1220219-0.5
    27 Crude fertilizers and crude minerales475394-17.14 0023 872-3.3
    28 Metalliferous ores and metal scrap7811 12143.46 9027 92314.8
    29 Crude animal and vegetable materials3329-11.1283649129.4
    3 Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials96 950106 65210.0858 547781 087-9.0
    32 Coal, coke and briquettes004.7507-86.8
    33 Petroleum, petroleum products51 53050 694-1.6398 682413 1653.6
    334 Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (other than crude); preparations, n.e.s., containing by weight 70% or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparation5 7666 97220.946 17238 006-17.7
    34 Gas , natural and manufactured42 96954 34426.5439 708354 688-19.3
    342 Liquefied propane and butane1 3411 86138.812 01014 28018.9
    35 Electric current2 4511 614-34.120 10613 227-34.2
    4 Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes485414-14.63 5763 7143.9
    41 Animal oils and fats2632640.62 0472 0530.3
    42 Fixed vegetable fats and oils, crude, refined or fractionated9460-35.9577496-14.1
    43 Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed12889-30.39511 16522.5
    5 Chemicals and related products n.e.s.6 5286 292-3.656 45654 815-2.9
    51 Organic chemicals1 5391 023-33.612 5578 559-31.8
    52 Inorganic chemicals1 1571 018-12.110 4798 411-19.7
    53 Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials17521523.01 4821 6078.4
    54 Medicinal and pharmaceutical products9641 18823.26 90411 71069.6
    55 Essential oils and resinoids etc239236-1.31 8081 9447.5
    56 Fertilizers2 ::::::
    57 Plastics in primary forms744720-3.36 0925 866-3.7
    58 Plastics in non-primary forms224179-20.11 7111 584-7.4
    59 Chemical materials and products, n.e.s.1 4851 71415.415 42415 134-1.9
    6 Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material10 4939 434-10.191 12684 626-7.1
    61 Leather, leather manufactures, furskins108-18.88381-2.4
    62 Rubber manufactures, n.e.s.9594-1.277085310.8
    63 Cork and wood manufactures17721018.81 5681 6203.3
    64 Paper, paperboard and manufactures thereof51159015.35 1314 479-12.7
    65 Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles196192-1.91 9591 772-9.5
    66 Non-metallic mineral manufactures, n.e.s.216205-5.31 7481 7741.5
    67 Iron and steel1 7381 711-1.614 12214 6974.1
    68 Non-ferrous metals6 8345 568-18.558 30051 795-11.2
    69 Manufactures of metals, n.e.s.71785719.57 4457 5551.5
    7 Machinery and transport equipment9 8498 674-11.978 04885 86210.0
    71 Power generating machinery and equipment769655-14.87 5627 6531.2
    72 Machinery for special industries1 1471 1500.39 5929 7301.4
    73 Metal working machinery395952.9538510-5.2
    74 General industrial machinery and equipment1 8841 9473.414 69619 95535.8
    75 Office machines, data processing machines496447-10.03 8874 49715.7
    76 Telecommunications apparatus and equipment67780118.36 0687 29520.2
    77 Electrical machinery and apparatus1 5351 77215.416 27418 87016.0
    78 Road vehicles1 2681 089-14.111 0739 668-12.7
    79 Other transport equipment including ships2 035755-62.98 3597 683-8.1
    8 Miscellaneous manufactured articles3 0353 85126.928 05430 89310.1
    81 Prefabricated buildings16720723.91 4771 5937.8
    82 Furniture and parts thereof293285-2.72 4432 323-4.9
    83 Travel goods, handbags etc.2621-21.1197181-8.1
    84 Articles of apparel and accessories250243-2.61 8761 9262.7
    85 Footwear697914.55475836.7
    87 Professional and scientific instruments1 3991 60014.411 36013 67920.4
    88 Photographic and optical goods264159.2299288-3.9
    89 Miscellaneous manufactured articles, n.e.s8051 37570.79 85410 3214.7
    9 Other commodities and transactions12720058.31 1821 51828.5
    91 Postal packages not classified according to kind00.00.
    93 Special transactions and commodities not classified according to kind31-50.52915-47.8
    96 Coin (other than gold coin), not being legal tender10-66.132-39.6
    97 Gold, non-monetary (excluding gold, ores and concentrates)12319961.51 1501 50230.5
    1Standard International Trade Classification, Revision 4 (SITC, Rev. 4)
    2Due to confidentiality in commodity group 56, this group can not be published separately. This group is included in group 59.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Mainland exports by county of production, commodity groups by the SITC. Year. NOK million
    Mainland exports by county of production, commodity groups by the SITC. Year. NOK million1 2
    2023
    Total mainland exportsDistribution by the SITC
    Food, beverages and tobacco (SITC 0 and 1)Fish (subgroup 03 of SITC 0)Crude materials except fuels (SITC 2 and 4)Fuels (SITC 3)Chemicals and related products n.e.s (SITC 5)Manufactured goods (SITC 6)Machinery and transport equipment (SITC 7)Miscellanous manufactured articles (SITC 8)
    The whole country706 701179 289165 24634 555116 08383 085130 804118 87344 012
    County of production
    Viken (2020-2023)45 0583 0143574 9045014 5036 43710 4405 710
    Oslo17 0581 2033791 47157 5471 1834 2621 387
    Innlandet16 0898725971 890196642 8345 5754 234
    Agder51 41893384084719 12735 6584 419433
    Rogaland53 6268 7977 4333 59816 7551 61712 5218 4041 934
    Vestland135 40633 25131 7863 05167 7871 95822 0845 7841 492
    Møre og Romsdal61 32633 04630 2862 941893 21314 1595 5932 285
    Trøndelag - Trööndelage44 96828 51827 7092 116416 6634 0281 7201 881
    Nordland - Nordlánnda50 82428 97628 6542 9670:12 082:82
    Troms og Finnmark - Romsa ja Finnmárku (2020-2023)29 48826 68025 581538888361 2169239
    Svalbard85000850000
    Jan Mayen000000000
    Norwegian goods produced in several counties44 7488 5768 5126 83427 367424159953437
    Re-exports of goods produced abroad3 91 9432 3749491 2842 5383 8899 18155 12217 555
    County not stated4 19 4062 7062 135808179552 3868 5224 011
    1
    2Standard International Trade Classification, Revision 4 (SITC, Rev. 4
    3County of production is defined as the county for the major value added. When the exports consists of a mix of goods from different counties, and the county of production is hard to state, the definition Norwegian goods produced in several counties is used. In the case when the value of an imported intermediate good is more than doubled, the good is considered as produced in Norway. In the opposite it is considered as exports of goods produced abroad.
    4County not stated implies no information about county of production is available.
    12 July 2024: Table 10482 in StatBank has been updated with new figures for the years 2022 and 2023.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Imports and exports of goods, by trade areas, continents and selected countries. Year. NOK Million
    Imports and exports of goods, by trade areas, continents and selected countries. Year. NOK Million1
    2023
    ExportsImportsTrade balance
    Total1 881 1341 024 276856 858
    Trade areas
    Nordic countries315 568190 862124 706
    EFTA15 62814 4301 199
    EU1 1 270 546570 081700 465
    OECD1 644 776631 5761 013 200
    Developing countries114 085227 937-113 852
    LDC - least developed countries2 5337 465-4 932
    Continents and countries
    Europe1 666 631649 9341 016 698
    Belgium102 82421 95680 868
    Denmark92 59247 72644 866
    Estonia2 4797 087-4 608
    Finland64 16325 57638 587
    France110 43829 07881 360
    Greece7 1791 9425 237
    Ireland6 7225 3171 405
    Iceland11 1654 4336 731
    Italy32 27131 750521
    Lithuania17 31412 8064 508
    Netherlands157 78148 957108 824
    Poland116 48736 75579 731
    Portugal9 0033 9085 095
    Romania6 5765 4781 098
    Russia1 7693 046-1 277
    Slovakia1 8243 952-2 128
    Spain25 37522 3013 074
    United Kingdom357 69345 968311 725
    Switzerland4 4609 904-5 445
    Sweden145 797110 69535 102
    Czechia3 49613 376-9 880
    Türkiye11 89110 3991 493
    Germany353 727116 128237 599
    Hungary3 0515 640-2 589
    Austria4 1237 931-3 807
    Other countries in Europe16 43117 825-1 394
    Asia103 312211 350-108 038
    Hong Kong3 1011 2841 817
    India4 5818 770-4 189
    Japan9 71717 910-8 193
    China37 640114 358-76 718
    Malaysia2 1315 266-3 135
    Singapore4 46110 312-5 851
    South Korea13 2767 8515 425
    Taiwan3 6707 229-3 559
    Thailand4 7346 246-1 511
    Viet Nam3 50410 014-6 511
    Other countries in Asia16 49722 110-5 613
    Northern, Central America and the Caribbean72 837109 623-36 785
    Canada6 20023 434-17 234
    United States of America60 78776 285-15 498
    Other countries in North- and Central America5 8509 904-4 054
    South America12 06832 976-20 908
    Brazil8 53220 966-12 434
    Chile1 9504 468-2 518
    Peru2271 747-1 520
    Other countries in South-America1 3595 795-4 436
    Africa22 51616 3836 133
    Angola1 108111998
    Botswana0130-130
    South Africa1 0064 618-3 612
    Other countries in Africa20 40211 5248 877
    Oceania3 7704 011-241
    Australia3 2522 967285
    New Zealand291457-166
    Other countries in Oceania227587-360
    1Figures for EU is without Great Britain from February 2020 on.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Imports and exports of goods (imports excl. ships and oil platforms and mainland exports), by trade areas, continents and selected countries. Year. NOK Million
    Imports and exports of goods (imports excl. ships and oil platforms and mainland exports), by trade areas, continents and selected countries. Year. NOK Million
    2023
    Mainland exportsImports excluding ships and oil platformsTrade balance
    Total706 7011 012 764-306 063
    Trade areas
    Nordic countries139 538189 990-50 452
    EFTA15 58514 3151 271
    EU1 412 590567 925-155 336
    OECD490 852628 796-137 944
    Developing countries102 798226 041-123 243
    LDC - least developed countries2 5337 465-4 932
    Continents and countries
    Europe506 197646 018-139 821
    Belgium22 29321 665628
    Denmark41 04747 317-6 271
    Estonia2 4797 087-4 608
    Finland10 98025 566-14 585
    France22 61529 078-6 463
    Greece1 9961 735261
    Ireland6 7225 2381 484
    Iceland11 1214 3186 803
    Italy15 52231 750-16 228
    Lithuania7 18912 806-5 617
    Netherlands70 40148 93421 466
    Poland33 21236 755-3 543
    Portugal7 3963 8403 556
    Romania2 5465 478-2 932
    Russia1 7693 046-1 277
    Slovakia1 8243 952-2 128
    Spain18 58922 301-3 713
    United Kingdom59 52245 73913 783
    Switzerland4 4609 904-5 445
    Sweden74 546110 596-36 050
    Czechia3 49613 376-9 880
    Türkiye8 0379 152-1 115
    Germany57 310116 126-58 816
    Hungary3 0515 640-2 589
    Austria4 1237 931-3 807
    Other countries in Europe13 95116 688-2 737
    Asia94 430204 730-110 300
    Hong Kong2 6821 2841 398
    India4 5818 770-4 189
    Japan9 71717 304-7 587
    China30 757114 358-83 601
    Malaysia2 1315 193-3 061
    Singapore4 4614 37290
    South Korea12 6337 8514 783
    Taiwan2 7597 229-4 470
    Thailand4 7346 246-1 511
    Viet Nam3 50410 014-6 511
    Other countries in Asia16 47122 109-5 638
    Northern, Central America and the Caribbean67 880109 285-41 405
    Canada5 09823 166-18 068
    United States of America58 31376 285-17 972
    Other countries in North- and Central America4 4699 834-5 365
    South America11 90732 917-21 009
    Brazil8 53220 966-12 434
    Chile1 7904 409-2 619
    Peru2271 747-1 520
    Other countries in South America1 3585 795-4 436
    Africa22 51616 3836 133
    Angola1 108111998
    Botswana0130-130
    South Africa1 0064 618-3 612
    Other countries in Africa6 17111 5248 877
    Oceania3 7703 431340
    Australia3 2522 967285
    New Zealand291457-166
    Other countries in Oceania2277220
    1Figures for EU is without Great Britain from February 2020 on.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Export of fish, by species. Year
    Export of fish, by species. Year1
    Million NOKChange in per cent
    202220232022 - 2023
    Total146 446165 24612.8
    Salmon2 105 598122 27015.8
    Cod12 26912 261-0.1
    Herring3 8904 0343.7
    Mackerel6 2646 6566.3
    Coalfish3 6493 9608.5
    Haddock1 9741 704-13.7
    Trout5 0065 4979.8
    Shrimps3 :::
    Halibut1 2201 40615.2
    Ling41545910.6
    Cusk23430630.8
    Redfish55778641.1
    Other fish2 4772 6165.6
    Other crustacean/ mollusc2 8933 29213.8
    1Within the SITC classification group 03 'Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates', Statistics Norway has grouped everything by species based on the product groups in the HS nomenclature. Some discrepancies may occur since not all product groups are specified by species. The group 'Other fish' is the sum of the remaining product groups under SITC 03.
    2Salmon contains more than the weekly figures of exports of salmon, fillets and other prepared salmon is also included.
    3Due to confidentiality in group “Shrimps” from 2013 on, exports in this group can not be published separately. This group is therefore included in commodity group “Other crustaceous animals except shrimps and mollusk”.
    Explanation of symbols
  • First revision of yearly figures of imports and exports. Commodity groups by SITC
    First revision of yearly figures of imports and exports. Commodity groups by SITC1
    2023
    ImportsExports
    NOK MillionChange in per centNOK MillionChange in per cent
    TOTAL1 024 2760.41 881 1340.4
    Of which:
    Crude oil12 2290.0538 0692.5
    Natural gas, whether or not liquefied4550.0627 945-0.9
    Natural gas condensates5692.45 3200.0
    Ships and oil platforms11 51224.33 09958.3
    Goods excl. ships and oil platforms1 012 764-0.11 8780.4
    Mainland exports..706 7010.0
    0 Food and live animals74 3760.0178 088-0.2
    00 Live animals other than animals of div.032580.01380.0
    01 Meat and meat preparations1 8860.0356-0.3
    02 Dairy products and birds' eggs2 4630.0227-0.1
    03 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and prep. thereof6 5950.0165 246-0.1
    04 Cereals and cereal preparations9 457-0.1817-0.5
    05 Vegetables and fruit17 5170.03250.0
    06 Sugars, sugar prepatations and honey2 9880.063-0.6
    07 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices6 872-0.1636-8.2
    08 Feeding stuff for animals (not cereals)18 5780.27 118-1.0
    09 Miscellaneous edible products7 7600.13 161-2.6
    1 Beverages and tobacco15 561-0.21 201-2.4
    11 Beverages10 6110.01 179-2.4
    12 Tobacco and tobacco manufactures4 950-0.622-0.3
    2 Crude materials, inedible, except fuels68 6680.028 9600.2
    21 Hides, skins and furskins, raw620.03560.0
    22 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits3 1360.160.0
    23 Crude rubber187-0.1700.0
    24 Wood, lumber and cork5 4450.06 6590.0
    25 Pulp and waste paper5460.03 923-0.1
    26 Textile fibres and their waste164-2.13240.0
    27 Crude fertilizers and crude minerales6 7080.16 5161.1
    28 Metalliferous ores and metal scrap48 5250.010 6490.0
    29 Crude animal and vegetable materials3 8950.04580.4
    3 Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials89 2040.01 287 4170.6
    32 Coal, coke and briquettes5 3270.091913.9
    33 Petroleum, petroleum products73 7850.0612 8832.2
    334 Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (other than crude); preparations, n.e.s., containing by weight 70% or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparation54 9400.068 6990.0
    34 Gas , natural and manufactured1 8350.0647 107-0.8
    342 Liquefied propane and butane1 3470.017 7210.7
    35 Electric current8 2580.027 3360.0
    4 Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes17 5410.05 5950.0
    41 Animal oils and fats9 7990.03 1930.0
    42 Fixed vegetable fats and oils, crude, refined or fractionated7 2410.0849-0.1
    43 Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed5010.41 553-0.2
    5 Chemicals and related products n.e.s.109 6210.083 085-0.1
    51 Organic chemicals12 534-0.218 1710.1
    52 Inorganic chemicals11 3070.015 1200.2
    53 Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials4 6680.02 1090.0
    54 Medicinal and pharmaceutical products29 4980.111 1780.0
    55 Essential oils and resinoids etc12 6610.12 849-0.1
    56 Fertilizers2 5 6090.0::
    57 Plastics in primary forms6 685-0.18 8030.0
    58 Plastics in non-primary forms9 0010.02 5730.0
    59 Chemical materials and products, n.e.s.17 6570.08 0820.0
    6 Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material131 5120.0130 804-1.9
    61 Leather, leather manufactures, furskins5540.01270.0
    62 Rubber manufactures, n.e.s.7 5450.01 212-0.3
    63 Cork and wood manufactures9 2370.02 3200.0
    64 Paper, paperboard and manufactures thereof10 5750.07 244-0.1
    65 Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles10 8980.02 918-0.1
    66 Non-metallic mineral manufactures, n.e.s.12 8980.02 582-0.3
    67 Iron and steel22 8220.020 814-0.4
    68 Non-ferrous metals12 6640.082 1000.0
    69 Manufactures of metals, n.e.s.44 3180.011 488-17.7
    7 Machinery and transport equipment380 6710.3120 1213.1
    71 Power generating machinery and equipment17 3770.012 3950.0
    72 Machinery for special industries39 015-0.314 8830.1
    73 Metal working machinery3 233-0.4824-0.6
    74 General industrial machinery and equipment56 268-0.122 953-0.1
    75 Office machines, data processing machines24 5800.06 0370.0
    76 Telecommunications apparatus and equipment35 6060.09 595-0.1
    77 Electrical machinery and apparatus64 563-0.124 90410.9
    78 Road vehicles112 176-0.217 3950.0
    79 Other transport equipment including ships27 8545.311 13512.1
    8 Miscellaneous manufactured articles134 770-0.144 012-0.1
    81 Prefabricated buildings10 354-0.22 2380.0
    82 Furniture and parts thereof19 2260.03 7280.0
    83 Travel goods, handbags etc.2 8990.02900.0
    84 Articles of apparel and accessories26 654-0.13 030-0.1
    85 Footwear7 3280.0839-0.1
    87 Professional and scientific instruments23 367-0.218 512-0.5
    88 Photographic and optical goods4 4710.0448-0.5
    89 Miscellaneous manufactured articles, n.e.s40 471-0.114 9270.2
    9 Other commodities and transactions2 3540.01 8520.0
    91 Postal packages not classified according to kind00.000.0
    93 Special transactions and commodities not classified according to kind1 2920.0560.0
    96 Coin (other than gold coin), not being legal tender550.030.0
    97 Gold, non-monetary (excluding gold, ores and concentrates)1 0060.01 7930.0
    1
    2Due to confidentiality commodity group 56 is included in commodity group 59.
    Explanation of symbols

Norwegian import and export - all countries and commodity numbers 1988-2023. 

Complete datasets corresponding to Statbank table 08801 for download as CSV.

About the statistics

The external trade statistics comprise the development in Norway's trade with other countries in terms of value and volume figures. Aggregated as well as detailed imports and exports figures between Norway and partner countries, trade regions and continents are provided.

The information under «About the statistics» was last updated 28 June 2024.

Imports and exports
Imports comprise mainly foreign manufactured goods entering Norway. This can also include re-importation of originally Norwegian-produced goods and processed goods. Exports comprise domestically produced goods sent out of Norway, i.e. the Norwegian statistical territory as defined in Section of population. Also included are reexportation of originally foreign-produced goods and processed goods.

Trade in goods is based on the physical movement of goods across borders, but for some items, such as ships, oil platforms and aircraft, trading often takes place without the occurrence of such movement. Whether there has been an import or export of such goods is therefore determined based on whether a change in economic ownership has taken place cf. also described in the Section of population. Economic ownership is defined as the person entitled to claim the economic benefit and who has the legal responsibility for the risk of the item.

Mainland exports
As from March 2013, the statistics on external trade in goods will use the term mainland exports on the exportation of goods other than crude oil, natural gas, natural gas condensates, ships and oil platforms. Previously, we also used the term traditional goods for these exports, as well as for imports excluding ships and oil platforms. (Balance of payments and the research department still use the term traditional goods. The balance of payments also includes items such as naphtha, propane and butane in its collective term crude oil and natural gas, external trade in goods does not.)

Country
Country of origin is used for imports. With regard to exports, the country of destination is used.

For raw materials, the country of origin is determined according to where the goods are produced. For manufactured goods (processed and refined goods), this is the country in which the goods have obtained the form they have at the time of import. The country of destination is defined as the country, which, on the date of export, is the last known country for which the goods are intended.

For more specific principles in relation to country of origin, the rule for ships, aircraft and oil platforms is that country of origin is the country that previously owned the goods (economic ownership). For Norwegian-produced goods sold abroad and subsequently bought in Norway, the country from which the goods are imported shall be given as the country of origin (manufacturing country).

Mode of transport
Mode of transport is defined as the means of transportation used when goods cross the border, either by import or export (in the Database for Standard Classifications there is a detailed description of mode of transport).

Quantity
For most goods, the quantity is expressed in kilograms (weight excluding packaging), except for ships and electricity, which are measured by gross tonnes and kWh respectively. However, for many goods, the quantity is also available in a different unit of measurement, such as pieces, barrels, cubic metres, carat, litres, pairs etc.

Statistical value
Statistical value is the value when crossing the Norwegian border. Duties, VAT and other taxes are not included in the statistical value.

Upon import, the value should be set to the CIF (Cost Insurance Freight) value, i.e. the value of the goods at the Norwegian border, including the costs associated with the delivery of goods to the border, transport costs and insurance. Similarly, for exports it is the value at the Norwegian border, including the costs associated with transporting it there, called FOB (Free On Board) value. CIF and FOB are two types of delivery terms called Incoterms. The delivery terms are an agreement between buyer and seller as to who bears the risk, responsibility and cost of transportation of the goods to the agreed place. In the Database for Standard Classifications there is an overview of the different delivery terms.

For crude oil exported by ship directly from installations on the Norwegian continental shelf, the value upon departure from the installation is used. In the case of crude oil and natural gas that is piped abroad, this value is determined based onon when it leaves the Norwegian continental shelf. The value of transport in international waters and into a terminal abroad is regarded as export of services.

The statistical value of exports and imports of ships is the transfer value including takeover of debt. With regard toto fish landed abroad (exported) by Norwegian vessels and caught outside the Norwegian customs border, the statistical value is the value of the fish paid to the fishing operator upon the sale of stock (minus the sales organisation fee).

County of production
The county of production is defined as the county in which the added value is greatest.

Classification of goods
The classification by HS (the international customs and statistics nomenclature, the Harmonized System) is a 6-digit grouping of goods organised primarily according to the material characteristics of goods at the time of crossing the border. Only in exceptional cases is the later use of the goods of any significance to the classification. The WCO (World Customs Organization) is responsible for this nomenclature.

The Norwegian customs tariff is based on the HS, but has two more digits, which are national codes. The 7th digit reflects national customs divisions/tariff rates (bound in the WTO - World Trade Organization). The 8th digit is used to cover the national statistical needs and and among others the interests of the Norwegian Agricultural Authority and Ministry of Foreign Affairs interests with regard to import and export regulations. In some cases, the 8th digit is also used to distinguish between goods subject to duties and/or fees. The Norwegian version is published annually on our website along with a text version of the nomenclature developed by Statistics Norway. The detailed commodity list, which includes all commodity numbers, also provides information about the validity of each commodity number.

Due to technological developments and changes in international trade, the HS nomenclature is normally updated every 5 years – with the most recent implementation on 1 January 2012. In addition, minor changes are made in the Norwegian customs tariff every year. The EU also uses the nomenclature of the HS in its publication of foreign trade figures. However, the EU version (available at Eurostat's website); the Combined Nomenclature (CN) - which also has eight digits - is more detailed than the Norwegian version. As mentioned previously, only the first 6 digits are common internationally.

When publishing external trade figures, the UN Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) is mainly used. Here the goods are grouped by level of processing (raw materials, semi-finished and finished goods). As from 1988 to 2006, the SITC-Rev.3 (unstats.un.org) is used, but as of 2007 the SITC-Rev. 4 (available at unstats.un.org as PDF) is used.

The classification BEC (Broad Economic Categories) (at unstats.un.org); the UN classification of commodities by end use, which is based on the SITC, is also used to some extent. This classification is not considered to be a "standard classification" in the same way as for example the SITC, and it is officially acknowledged that countries may have their own version of this grouping in order to satisfy national needs. The Norwegian version of this classification can be found in the Database for Standard Classifications.

The various nomenclatures are listed on the UN’s website, as well as correspondence tables between the different nomenclatures HS, SITC and BEC and their different versions.

The product classification CPA divides goods by industry group, and in external trade we use extracts from this. CPA (Statistical Classification of Productivity by Activity in the European Community) is the EU's central Product by Activity classification. It is a product group that is closely linked to industry, i.e. distinctive products within each activity can be linked to the activity classification NACE Rev.2.

Grouping by country
The Norwegian list of countries used follows the international standard ISO-3166. EU countries use the same standard, except for some deviations of less importance.

In the external trade publications these country groupings are frequently used:

  • Nordic countries - trade with Sweden, Denmark, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Finland, Åland and Iceland
  • EFTA - trade with Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. European Free Trade Association - Wikipedia
  • EU – in the Database for standard classifications current member states at any given time is available
  • OECD - for current member states at any given time see the OECD's website
  • Developing countries – as from 2007, the figures are according to the OECD’s DAC (DAC stands for Development Assistance Committee) for definitions of countries at any given time that are recognised as recipients of official foreign aid. The DAC list also includes a section on LDCs (Least Developed Countries - defined by the UN) - which we also use in the statistics.
    (Until 2006, these countries were defined as developing countries in the Norwegian trade statistics: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Croatia, Macedonia, Malta, Slovenia - Africa except South Africa - Asia excluding Japan, North and South America except USA, Canada and Greenland - Oceania except Australia and New Zealand.)

Name: External trade in goods
Topic: External economy

15 October 2024

Division for External Trade Statistics

Statistics on imports and exports of goods are published at country level. Export figures are also given by county of production.

Monthly figures are released on the 15th of the month after the observation period (the previous month), or the first subsequent working day. With every new release, all the previous monthly figures are updated in every publication.

For more information about Revisions, please see Accuracy and Reliability.

Reports are sent to the EU statistical office (Eurostat), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations (UN).

Non-revised and revised micro data are stored in accordance with Statistics Norway's guidelines for storing computer files (DataDok).

The purpose of the external trade statistics is to provide information about the commodity flows between Norway and other countries. Exports and imports are important economic indicators both in describing structural changes and in monitoring the economic trends. The monthly statistics of external trade in goods have been published since 1913 (value figures were published for the first time in 1866).

With regard to essential changes in the statistics, the commodity classification in line with the Harmonised System that was introduced in 1988 entailed a comprehensive restructuring of the distribution at a detailed level in relation to the earlier CCCN nomenclature (the Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature).

The statistics are mainly financed from State assignments, but also rely to some extent on market income.

The external trade statistics are a part of the national and international statistical system, and are used in the compilation of the national accounts and the balance of payment statistics in Statistics Norway. The statistics are aimed at covering the business sector’s need for data in this area for their planning of production, marketing and sales.

The statistics are also intended for prognoses and analyses performed by public authorities, research institutions and private organisations. International organisations such as the UN´s statistical office, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the statistical office of the EU (Eurostat) and others make use of the information provided in the external trade statistics.

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 8 am. Prior to this, a minimum of three months' advance notice is given in the Statistics Release Calendar. This is one of Statistics Norway’s key principles for ensuring that all users are treated equally.

The figures for external trade statistics are an important part of the quarterly balance of payments and national accounts and the annual national accounts.

The balance of payments also collects estimates of trade in goods which are transported directly from abroad to the Norwegian continental shelf, imports of fuel and other oil products to Norwegian ships, aircraft and units abroad. Moreover the external account interprets some of the goods from the external trade statistics in goods as a service, such as computer games, software and licenses.

In the publication of the figures for external trade we give figures for crude oil, natural gas and condensates, while the balance of payments use the collective term “crude oil and natural gas”. Terms in foreign accounts also encompass items such as naphtha, propane and butane, while the external trade statistics do not.

In addition to the statistics mentioned, external trade figures are included in many of the other statistics published by Statistics Norway, for example:

Mirror statistics
Mirror statistics, in the context of external trade statistics, refer to a comparison between the statistics of two or more countries: exports of goods from one country should in principle equal the imports of the same goods in the partner country.

However, discrepancies are often identified in these figures for several reasons. Although there are international guidelines for the production of external trade statistics, there may still be differences in what the countries include. An example is differences in the usage of statistical trade systems, general or special trade, which causes delimitations to the statistics content. Countries may also have different methods for data collecting and processing, which can create distortions. Furthermore, some countries collect data from customs authorities and others directly from companies.

Basically, there should be a certain difference in value between the countries, as the exporting country provides the FOB-value while the importing country in addition to this adds costs for insurance and freight all the way to the location of delivery, the CIF-value (see Definitions). Some countries collect data from customs authorities, others directly from companies. A common source of error between countries is caused by different information about which is the country of destination. Different threshold-values for inclusion of data can also create distortions, f.ex. in Norwegian external trade statistics, declarations with value less than NOK 1 000 are excluded from the import statistics. Other countries may have other delimitations. Different practise of confidentiality and demands for confidentiality, inaccurate definitions of certain commodities as well as conscious and unconscious misuse of codes can lead to use of different classification codes between countries.

From a Norwegian point of view, there is a need for comparing external trade data with the corresponding statistics of our main trading partners, principally European countries. It is in this context important to have knowledge of the rules practiced by the individual partners.

The Statistical Office of the European Union, Eurostat, publishes external trade data for EU countries, totally for the Union and separate for each member country. This statistics are produced according to EU regulations, which defines external trade as trade between the European Union trade and third countries. As a consequence of this, exports to countries in the EU from a non EU-member state are recorded as imported to EU in the first country where the goods cross the borders of the European Union. When forwarding the goods to the country of destination, the good is recorded as an item dispatched from the EU-country that first received the goods. Information about the country of origin of the commodity is not included in the records. Several of the EU-countries publishes in addition to the data presented in the Eurostat database, Comext, separately external trade statistics produced after national methodology. For information about this, consult Eurostat's annual report: Quality report on International trade statistics.

EU regulations incorporated into the EEA agreement comprise contractual obligations pursuant toto EC regulations onon data collection and distribution of data to the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat. The current regulations are as follows:

Commission Regulation (EU) No. 92/2010 of 2 February 2010 implementing Regulation (EC) No. 471/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics relating to external trade with non-member countries, as regards data exchange between customs authorities and national statistical authorities, compilation of statistics and quality assessment

Commission Regulation (EU) No. 113/2010 of 9 February 2010 implementing Regulation (EC) No. 471/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics relating to external trade with non-member countries, as regards trade coverage, definition of the data, compilation of statistics on trade by business characteristics and by invoicing currency, and specific goods or movements

Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1106/2012 of 27 November 2012 implementing Regulation (EC) No. 471/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics relating to external trade with non-member countries, as regards the update of the nomenclature of countries and territories

Statistics area and the economic territory
The scope of foreign trade statistics is based on international guidelines from the United Nations Statistical Commission.

The general recommendation is that the statistics should include all goods which add to or subtract from the stock of material resources of a country by entering (imports) or leaving (exports) its economic territory. In addition to the geographical dimension, a country's economic territory also includes ships, aircraft and oil platforms owned by national corporations. These are goods that are not necessarily located within the geographic area, but are still viewed as part of the material resources of a country. For these goods external trade is measured by the change of economic ownership.

There are two different statistical trade systems - the general trade system and the special trade system. UN recommends using the general trade system where a country's statistical area coincides with its economic territory. This implies that goods are recorded at the time they enter or leave the economic territory. The special trade system is used when the statistical area covers only a part of the economic territory. Statistics Norway follows, with a few exceptions, the general trade system.

The Norwegian economic territory consists of mainland Norway, Svalbard, Jan Mayen, Norwegian dependencies, territorial waters, including the airspace above these, the economic zone, the Norwegian part of the continental shelf, territorial enclaves abroad (embassies, consulates, military bases, research stations) and Norwegian ships, aircraft and oil platforms.

External trade statistics is mainly based on information drawn from customs declarations. However, the responsible area of the customs authorities only covers mainland Norway and its territorial waters. As a supplement, data on important trade in goods to and from the remaining areas of the economic territory are collected directly from respondents and registers.

The following are defined as statistical area:

Mainland Norway and its territorial waters
Customs declarations contain information on physical flows of goods crossing the customs border. Imports and export that are exempted from ordinary declaration are referred to in the Customs Act §§ 4-10 and 4-11. According to the recommendations from the UN, some flows of goods should be excluded from the statistics. This includes trade in Norwegian goods between the customs area and other parts of the Norwegian economic territory. To the extent possible, trade in foreign goods to and from foreign enclaves, ships, aircraft and oil platforms located in Norway are omitted. To distinguish this type of transactions customs procedure codes from the declarations are used. In general, trade transactions are recorded at the time when the goods enter or leave the customs territory. However there are some exceptions, cf. the treatment of goods in customs warehouses.

There are four different types of customs warehouses. Goods waiting on declearance,can be stored in either a general or a central warehouse. For imports the time of recording is set when the goods are taken out of the warehouse and not when they arrived in the economic territory. This means that the statistical processing of these data follows the special trade principle. However, in practice the time difference between storage and withdrawals from warehouses is usually so small that the statistical processing is considered to be approximately equal to the general trade principle. For the remaining two types of customs warehouse; duty free and storage for further processing, the statistical treatment is according to the general trade system.

Customs declarations of exports and imports of electric current do not provide enough information for statistical purposes, and data is therefore obtained directly from the respondent.

Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Import transported through the Norwegian mainland to Svalbard and Jan Mayen should be declared by customs. Data on exports of coal transported directly from Svalbard are collected directly from the respondents.

The Norwegian part of the continental shelf
Imports via the Norwegian mainland to Norwegian owned installations and vessels that operate on the continental shelf should be declared by customs. Exports of crude oil and natural gas delivered directly from the continental shelf are based on data from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate and the different operators.

Norwegian owned ships, aircraft and oil platforms
Exports and imports of ships, aircraft and oil platforms are based on information from Norwegian ship registers as well as from different respondents. Export of Norwegian goods (excluding bunkers) to foreign ships and aircraft in Norwegian ports and airports are covered by customs declarations.

Data on exports of fish caught by Norwegian fishing vessels outside the customs area and landed abroad is obtained from the Directorate of Fisheries.

In accordance with the UN recommendations the following trade in goods are not included in the statistics:

  • Goods in transit, ie goods attending the Norwegian economic territory to be directly transported to a recipient outside this area
  • Goods traded through intermediate trade, ie goods transported between two foreign countries without entering the Norwegian economic territory
  • Goods physically crossing the country border, but defined as a service (including newspaper subscriptions, accompanied baggage, household goods)
  • Content delivered electronically (including e-books, downloadable games, etc.), defined purely as a service
  • Issued banknotes, securities and monetary gold
  • Samples, gifts and promotional material etc. with a low value
  • Goods for repair or return after repair
  • Goods in unaltered condition in return to vendor (claims etc.) and waste containers, replacement deliveries and free repairs (warranty)
  • Items for temporary use, that are returned within 12 months (exhibition, demonstration, scientific research, loan, professional equipment, transport vehicles in international traffic, containers, equipment in use for the press, radio and television equipment, etc.)
  • Change in ownership of non-financial assets
  • Goods that are damaged on the journey to and from the Norwegian economic territory
  • Satellites equipment moved to and launched in other countries without any change of ownership
  • Goods functioning as means of transport (ship, aircraft, packaging, etc.
  • Waste and scrap without any commercial value

Furthermore goods totalling less than NOK 1 000 are omitted, these goods amounts to less than one per cent of the import and about 0.04 per cent of the export. Imports of goods for less than NOK 200 and exports of goods less than NOK 5.000 (except from goods that are subject to taxes and restrictions) are not subject to declaration by the Customs.

The statistics are mainly based on administrative information obtained from TVINN, which is the Norwegian Customs’ electronic information system for the exchange of customs declarations between businesses and Norwegian Customs. Some data is, however, obtained from other sources, and more information on this can be found in the paragraph on data collection.

Sampling is not not relevant as external trade is a total count of the goods defined in the population.

Data collection

The vast majority of the data is, as mentioned, collected through the Customs’ TVINN register and transmitted electronically to Statistics Norway. However, some additional data, as shown below, is obtained separately.

Exports of crude oil and natural gas in gaseous state
Preliminary and final figures for exported volumes of crude oil and natural gas in gaseous state are collected through monthly reports from the operators and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. The prices, however, are obtained via various sources depending on whether they relate to crude oil or natural gas, and whether the data is being collected to compile preliminary or final figures.

From 2013 on, the development in the in gas prices from the producer price index (PPI) used to calculate the preliminary gas prices for foreign trade, while the level will be based on the value determined from the last registered price. PPI obtain figures for natural gas from different open sources for gas prices in the European market.

Preliminary oil prices are based on the reference price of Brent Blend for the current month.

For crude oil, the final prices: quarterly surveys from the licensees, as well as information from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the operators.

For natural gas, final prices: a quarterly average price based on information from a selection of licensees and operators was used until 2019. From 2020 on we have monthly prices also for these figures.

Due to insufficient information about country of destination there are from 2013 on changes in the dissemination of the figures of exports of natural gas in gaseous state. From 2013, country of destination according to these figures will be based on the landing point of the pipelines with natural gas from the Norwegian continental shelf.

Exports of crude oil in pipelines to Great Britain
All exports of Norwegian crude oil that are transported by pipeline to Teeside are registered in the official statistics with the UK as the country of destination. The ownership is Norwegian until the oil is processed in Great Britain, but because a commodity is registered as exported when it physically has crossed the Norwegian border.
After this unstabilized crude oil has gone through a fractionation process, where it is separated into the components of stabilized crude oil, ethane, propane and butane, it is shipped onwards, thus giving a new country distribution. Crude oil has to be stabilized in order to be transported by ship.
Only those shipments regarded as genuine importation into Great Britain is regarded are included in the statistics of Great Britain. All other flows are regarded as being in transit, and therefore excluded.

The figures by country in Statbank table 12780 for “Crude oil, incl. oil by pipelines after processing in Great Britain” shows reallocated figures after country of destination for oil exports by pipe lines (to Great Britain) and by ship to all countries.
Only those shipments regarded as genuine importation into Great Britain is regarded are included in the statistics of Great Britain. All other flows are regarded as being in transit, and therefore excluded.
The fractionation process implies that some of the crude oil disappears, thereby different total figures.

Imports and exports of ships and oil platforms
The data collection for vessels is based on current information from the Norwegian ship registers the Norwegian Ordinary Ship Register (NOR) and the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS).

When it comes to oil platforms, information is collected from the Norwegian ship registers, the Customs’ TVINN register and importer/exporter.

Imports and exports of electricity
Information is received from Statnett. The volume of imports and exports of electricity is measured by the net transfer of the power grid junction point towards foreign countries and is registered every hour. The value of this trade is calculated by multiplying the amount of electricity transferred per hour with Norpools market price for the current hour. Thereafter the figures are aggregated to a monthly level.

Imports and exports of aircraft
For some aircrafts, monthly reports are received from Statistics Sweden, while the rest are obtained through regular declarations in the TVINN system.

Exports of coal from Svalbard
Reports on the export of coal from Svalbard are received yearly from the exporter.

Exports of fish caught by Norwegian vessels outside the Norwegian customs border
Since July 2010, the figures have been obtained from the Directorate of Fisheries (FDIR). Prior to that, the information was gathered through TVINN.

Data editing
Information from customs declarations is subject to statistical controls in the Customs declaration system (TVINN). The controls to check the estimated price, quantity and country were developed by the Customs in cooperation with Statistics Norway.

Data controls at Statistics Norway take place at different levels - some as soon as the data is loaded into the system (automatic recoding of variables). The manual part of the revision consists of different types of validity and probability tests. The former are controls of absolute errors, such as missing transport code, while the other type of test may check unlikely country codes or unreasonably high quantities for a specific type of good. The system aims to intercept the most serious errors in the data. Data collected from sources other than the Customs also undergo similar checks.

Estimations
External trade is based on a total count but some items are excluded, cf. section of population. There is no need for any statistical estimations of current figures, only aggregations, in order to enable us to publish in a timely manner.

The methods and routines used to produce seasonally adjusted figures are described in the chapter About seasonal adjustment.

The Statistics Act § 7 covers the disclosure of information.

The requirements for confidentiality in external trade of goods are practised so that data is suppressed only when the establishment/enterprise has a valid reason for confidential treatment and actively asks for it. Exporters/importers can demand suppression when there are 3 or fewer companies that import or export an item type to a given country, or when a company has a market share of over 90 per cent, or if two firms have a market share of over 95 per cent.This is called "passive confidentiality" and is in line with UN recommendations. This method is used by most countries..

Since Norway has a number of major manufacturers that are dominant in some product areas, some suppression of information exists on the export side. Between 5 and 10 per cent of mainland exports are affected by confidentiality. For imports, it is far less; around 1 per cent. Some commodity areas are more problematic with regard to dissemination, since suppression on highly aggregated levels must be carried out.

The six-digit HS-based commodity classification is subject to revisions due to technological development and also development in the commodity spectres of the international trade. These adjustments are normally made every five years. The most recent HS revision was implemented on 1 January 2012. Furthermore, national adjustments are made every year at the national eight-digit level. These revisions can create breaks in the time series for some commodity numbers. Detailed information about this is available in the yearly Commodity List External Trade. Correspondence tables between the different editions of the HS are available on the UN website.

With regard to the divisions according to the SITC, the current SITC-Rev.4 was introduced in January 2007, when it replaced the previous SITC-Rev.3 (1988-2006). The relation between the figures for the years before and after 2007 can be misleading for some commodity numbers. The degree of influence depends on the value of the commodity numbers that now have a different group affiliation. Correspondence tables between the different editions of the SITC are also available on the UN website.

For the tables that use the CPA nomenclature, the 2008 edition is used for the whole series.

Other elements influencing the comparability over time: The imports and exports of ships and oil platforms in the statistics were extended in 1991 to include transactions that concern vessels under a foreign flag with a Norwegian-registered holding company. Furthermore, the definition of developing countries was changed in 2007, which affects the figures slightly.

The data material in the External trade in goods statistics is very extensive, and at the most detailed level the quality can vary. The quality will be affected by errors in reported data. Collection errors can occur from incorrect values, incomplete information or misinterpretation of data on customs declarations. Examples of this are use of wrong commodity number, country code, county of production or incorrect quantity.

Users of the statistics must therefore consider this when using detailed figures. Commodity numbers with little trade, measured in value, will be more prone to errors than commodity numbers with a lot of trade. Furthermore, the statistical variables weight and quantity have poorer quality than value. Goods with restrictions and trade to particular countries are, however, monitored more closely.

Statistics Norway is required to report detailed figures to Eurostat, and therefore finds it appropriate that the figures are also published to Norwegian users, despite the varying quality.

Other sources of error include late updates, which sometimes occur for the trade with ships and oil platforms. The rules for customs clearance, which entail exemption from the duty to declare for goods with value below a set value, lead to lower figures than the real trade. This is not the best solution for preparation of the national accounts, where these lacking figures are estimated separately.

The calculation of seasonally-adjusted data beyond the usual seasonal effects is adjusted for the fact that trade is distributed unevenly across the week and taking into account the effect of Easter, as described in the section of estimations. However, beyond this nothing in particular is done. Therefore, it would be natural to assume that the seasonally-adjusted December figures should be interpreted more cautiously because of the Christmas holidays.

The export trade statistics is a full count, so there are therefore no non-response errors or sampling errors.

When publishing statistics for a new month of measurement, figures for the previous months in the same year are also revised. Furthermore, the figures for all months of the year are revised twice more: First time in May the following year (year t + 1), before final figures are published in May one year later (year t + 2). See External trade in goods tables in the Statbank in for more information about the size of the revisions.

At the aggregate level, the difference between preliminary monthly figures and revised figures published in May year t + 1 will normally be small for imports and mainland exports. At a detailed level and for individual months, the revisions can be of greater importance, relatively speaking. For oil and gas, larger audits can be experienced, in particular, related to the calculation of oil and gas prices. The revisions of the final publication in year t + 2 will normally be of minor importance, but in some cases relatively significant corrections can also be uncovered in this time perspective.

Monthly and quarterly time series are often characterised by considerable seasonal variations, which might complicate their interpretation. Such time series are therefore subjected to a process of seasonal adjustment in order to remove the effects of these seasonal fluctuations. Once data have been adjusted for seasonal effects by X-12-ARIMA or some other seasonal adjustment tool, a clearer picture of the time series emerges.

More information on seasonal adjustment, metadata on methods.

Many commodities in external trade in goods have a pattern that appear repeatedly at about the same time every year.

An example of seasonal variation for external trade in goods is the export of fish, where the seasonal pattern is influenced by fish species having different fishing seasons and international demands. The export of skrei is highest in February and March, and the salmon export highest towards the end of the year. Another example is the export of natural gas, where the amount exported varies with the winter and summer seasons, due to different demand from European countries.

To be able to follow the underlying development from month to month without being influenced by such variations, the figures are seasonally adjusted.

Pre-treatment is an adjustment for variations caused by calendar effects and outliers.

We follow the European Statistical System (ESS) guidelines on seasonal adjustment (ec.europa.eu) as far as possible. When background information for an outlier is available, the outlier is included as an explanatory variable (regressor) in the model.

For handling the corona crisis in the seasonal adjustment, we follow Eurostat's guidelines (available on Eurostat's web site as PDF), which state that the effect of the corona crisis should not be included in the basis for estimation of seasonal factors.

Calendar adjustment

Calendar adjustment contains both adjustments for trading days effects and for moving holiday effects. Adjustments for trading days means that we adjust the raw data so that both the number of working days since the composition of these can vary from period to period.

Calendar adjustment is carried out on all series that show a significant and plausible calendar effect with RegARIMA procedure (a regression model where the noise term is modelled by an ARIMA model).

Calendar regression variables are processed in accordance with the Norwegian holidays and public holidays.

Methods for trading/working day adjustment

RegARIMA correction is used – in this case, the effect of trading days is estimated in a RegArima framework. The effect of trading days can be estimated by using a correction for the length of the month or leap year, regressing the series on the number of working days etc. In this case, the residuals will have an ARIMA structure.

Correction for moving holidays

Test for moving holidays’ effect of Easter holiday after the X-13-ARIMAs impact modell. Very few series have a significant moving holidays’ effect.

National and EU/euro area calendars

Use of the Norwegian calendar, which considers Norwegian working days and public holidays.

Treatment of outliers

Outliers, or extreme values, are abnormal values of the series.

Series are inspected to identify outliers. Once identified, outliers are explained/modelled using all available information. Outliers for which a clear interpretation exists (changed methodology in data collections, special events and consequences of government policy changes etc.) are included as regressors in the model.

The identified outliers are predefined in pre-adjustment’s model. Program will only search for the last year for outlier. They are detected automatically by the seasonal adjustment tool. The outliers are removed before seasonal adjustment is carried out, and then reintroduced into the seasonally adjusted data.

Model selection

Pre-treatment requires choosing an ARIMA model, as well as deciding whether the data should be log-transformed or not.

Model selection is automatic, by JDemetra+’s established routines.

Decomposition routine

The decomposition routine specifies how the trend, seasonal and irregular components are decomposed. The most common decompositions are the multiplicative, additive or log additive.

We have used an automatic decomposition scheme selection in JDemetra+, and multiplicative decomposition is used for most series in this model.

Choice of seasonal adjustment approach: X-13 method in JDemetra+ (github.io)

Consistency between raw and seasonally adjusted data

In some series it is preferred that, for example, the sum of monthly seasonally adjusted figures for a year should be identical to the sum of monthly figures in the original raw series.

For the external trade statistics, no consistency conditions are applied.

Consistency between aggregate/definition of seasonally adjusted data

In some series, consistency between seasonally adjusted totals and the original series is imposed. For some series there is also a special relationship between the different series, e.g. GDP which equals production minus intermediate consumption.

Due to indirect approach for aggregates, the consistency is automatically fulfilled.

Direct versus indirect approach

Direct seasonal adjustment is performed if every time series, including aggregates, are seasonally adjusted on an individual basis. Indirect seasonal adjustment is performed if the seasonally adjusted estimate for a time series is derived by combining the estimates for two or more directly adjusted series.

A total of 38 seasonally adjusted series are published. Main aggregates such as total imports, total exports, mainland exports are seasonally adjusted indirectly. Furthermore, we have seasonally adjusted import and export series according to the one-digit SITC. All these series are value series. We find seasonal patterns for all these series, except SITC9 where series are adjusted mostly for calendar effects and the results from seasonal adjustment is uncertain.

The important export commodities crude oil, natural gas in gaseous form, fish (SITC03), metals other than iron and steel (SITC68) and electricity (SITC35) are seasonally adjusted for both value and volume, where volume series are direct adjusted and value series are indirectly adjusted.

Horizon for estimating the model and the correction factors

When performing seasonal adjustment of a time series, it is possible to choose the period to be used in estimating the model and the correction factors. Correction factors are the factors used in the pre-treatment and seasonal adjustment of the series.

The entire time series from January 2005 on is used to estimate the model and the correction factors.

General revision policy

Seasonally adjusted data may change due to a revision of the unadjusted (raw) data or the addition of new data. Such changes are called revisions, and there are several ways to deal with the problem of revisions when publishing the seasonally adjusted statistics.

In accordance with recommendations from the ESS guidelines, the models behind the seasonally adjusted figures will be subject to a thorough review once a year.

Concurrent versus current adjustment

Partial concurrent adjustment: the model is identified and estimated yearly, while filters, outliers (last year) and regression parameters are re-identified and estimated continuously as new or revised data become available.

Horizon for published revisions

The revision period for the seasonally adjusted results is limited to 4 years prior to the revision period of the unadjusted data, while older data are frozen.

Evaluation of seasonally adjustment data

A detailed set of graphical, descriptive, non-parametric and parametric criteria defined to assess the relevant characteristics of seasonally adjusted data are used.

Quality measures for seasonal adjustment

A set of available diagnostics within the seasonal adjusted tools and graphical capabilities are used.

A table containing selected quality indicators for the seasonal adjustments is available. The table is available here: indicators_seasonaladjustment (XLSX)

More information about the quality indicator is found here: metadata on methods: seasonal adjustment (PDF).

Seasonal adjustment of short time series

All series are sufficiently long to perform an optimal seasonal adjustment.

Treatment of problematic series

Following the Corona crisis that started in the 1st quarter of 2020, the seasonal adjustment follows the Eurostat guidelines for how to treat this extraordinary event. The result being that the effect of the Corona crisis is not a part of the foundation of the seasonal patterns. We assume that the seasonal pattern is unchanged, and that we correct for the systematic seasonal variation calculated on data before the corona crisis.

Data availability

Unadjusted figures (original series or raw data) and seasonally adjusted are available.

Contact

Opplysningstjenesten for utenrikshandelen

utenrikshandel@ssb.no