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UN Comtrade Help Center

UN Comtrade Help Center

  • UN Comtrade website

Getting Started

  • Welcome to UN Comtrade
  • Read Me First (Disclaimer)
  • Use Cases
  • How to Access UN Comtrade data?
  • Subscription Plans
  • UN Comtrade Data Processing and Dissemination Pipeline
  • Policy on use and re-dissemination
  • Premium Subscribers
  • How to create an account
  • Acquiring API Subscription Keys
  • Who do we contact for support?
  • Can I book a demo of the UN Comtrade platform?

FAQ

  • Policy on use and re-dissemination
  • FAQs on Use and Re-dissemination
  • List of References & Parameter Codes
  • Exports from one country may not always align perfectly with the imports of its trading partners.
  • Bilateral asymmetries
  • Issues with UN Comtrade Website?
  • Annual totals vs sum of monthly data
  • Can I book a demo of the UN Comtrade platform?
  • Why are some converted datasets not accessible in the UI?
  • What is “SITC LTS”?
  • Why does the commodity description for some HS codes differ slightly from the official WCO version?
  • Trade valuation
  • How to Access UN Comtrade data?
  • Mode of Transport and Trade Routes
  • Does UN Comtrade provide buyer/supplier-level data?
  • How should I interpret and use quantity data in UN Comtrade?
  • What is bulk file download?
  • How do I use wildcards to query data?
  • How to use UN Comtrade via World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS)
  • What are the data sources for UN Comtrade?
  • Which new data items have been added to UN Comtrade datasets?
  • How to retrieve data for “World” exports to a country in UN Comtrade?
  • What is data preview?
  • What is data delivery?
  • Conversion factors and current/constant value
  • Supplementary Quantity Units
  • Are 6-digit commodity codes included in 4-digit commodity codes or are they separate?
  • Reported and Converted Data: Commodity Conversion Issues
  • Premium Trial Subscription
  • Who do we contact for support?
  • Showcases in Visualization Labs

Premium

  • Premium Subscribers
  • UN Comtrade Tools
  • Menu: Bulk Files

Metadata

  • Seaborne Trade Estimates – Archive
  • Country nomenclature and groupings
  • Historical Data 1900-1960 on IMTS
  • Correlation between ISIC and SITC codes (or Commodity and Industry)
  • Conversion factors and current/constant value
  • Which new data items have been added to UN Comtrade datasets?
  • What are the data sources for UN Comtrade?
  • Supplementary Quantity Units
  • Reporters and Partners
  • Taiwan, Province of China Trade Data
  • Data Conversion
  • Intermediate Goods in Trade Statistics
  • HS 2017 code 3002.19 and HS 2022 code 3822.19
  • HS 2007 code 2916.36
  • Monetary and Non-Monetary Gold in Trade Classifications (SITC, HS)
  • Areas not elsewhere specified
  • Why are China’s re-imports so high?
  • Second Partner Country
  • UN Comtrade and UNData
  • Tariffline product code description
  • Shuttle Trade
  • Trade with itself
  • Reporter country codes and their custom areas
  • Reported and Converted Data: Commodity Conversion Issues
  • Quantity unit information in detailed level data
  • Data Confidentiality in UN Comtrade
  • EU in UN Comtrade
  • Definition of luxury goods
  • Exports from one country may not always align perfectly with the imports of its trading partners.
  • Changes in trade reporting practices of countries with colonies
  • Reporting Period – Calendar Year
  • Measurement of iron trade, specifically in used cars
  • Leasing of aircraft – financial leasing
  • Hong Kong trade with China
  • Historical data on International Merchandise Trade Statistics (1900-1960)
  • Free Zones and Bunkers
  • Food provided on airlines – Transportation Services
  • Country Codes
  • China: Data availability before 1984
  • Italy: Change in Statistical Territory

Definitions

  • Trade valuation
  • Bilateral asymmetries
  • Special Trade System
  • Modes of Supply
  • Economic Territory and Statistical Territory
  • Distinction between Exports and Re-exports / Imports and Re-imports

Do more

  • UN Comtrade Tools
  • Developer tools for UN Comtrade Data

User Guide

  • How to create an account
  • Home page
  • Menu: Data
  • Menu: Data Availability
  • Menu: Bulk Files
  • Menu: Metadata
  • UN Comtrade Tools
  • UN Comtrade API
  • Showcases in Visualization Labs
  • Premium Trial Subscription
  • What is data preview?
  • What is data delivery?
  • What is tariffline data?
  • How to query data
  • How do I use wildcards to query data?
  • Downloading all data by period
  • How to use UN Comtrade via World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS)

Methodology and Manuals

  • Concepts and definitions of International Merchandise Trade Statistics
  • Concepts and definitions of Statistics of International Trade in Services
  • UN Comtrade Data Processing and Dissemination Pipeline
  • Compilation Methodology
  • Historical Data 1900-1960 on IMTS
  • IMTS Publication List
  • HS, SITC, BEC conversion and correspondence tables
  • Quantity and Weight Data in UN Comtrade

Trade in Services

  • Negative values in trade in services
  • Modes of Supply
  • EBOPS 2002: Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification
View Categories
  • Home
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  • Menu: Data

Menu: Data

1 min read

Trade #

This interface returns trade statistics for goods and services based on the following parameters: product type, frequency, classification code, commodity code, periods, reporter, partner, second partner, trade flows, modes of transport, and customs code. Users can provide more than a single criterion as the parameter.

Search tips:

  • For faster results, avoid having “ALL” in the selection criteria
  • Availability of the content depends on reporting countries/areas; as an example, some may not have a breakdown by mode of transport
  • Log in for more customization features and to enable the download button
  • The Preview returns a max of 500 records regardless of the actual results
  • Do you know the codes already? Enable the edit mode (pencil icon) for faster input
  • Use “Deliver” for large and unattended data extraction (subscription only)
  • Interested in using API instead of UI? Go to the UN Comtrade developer portal at https://comtradedeveloper.un.org/
  • Want to know the actual number of records based on your selection? Use the count button.

For more complex queries, click the pencil icon to enable text box editing. You can then input and separate the codes using commas.

Additionally, you can calculate a custom grouping by setting the appropriate aggregation parameter in the “Aggregate By” box.

Tariffline #

The tariff line data closely resembles the original microdata submitted by countries or regions. Pre-aggregation and classification conversion have not been applied, meaning there is no aggregated data or converted classification available. Trade values have been converted to USD for consistency, and all nomenclatures are standardized except for the commodities. Additionally, some countries may report data at the tariff line level, which can include more than six-digit HS codes. See: What is tariffline data?

Seaborne Trade Estimates #

Estimates of World Seaborne Trade in Real Time: A Proof of Concept for Building AIS-based Nowcasts from Scratch.

This is an experimental-data section. The estimates presented here are provisional, and not official statistics. Please cite these estimates as: Cerdeiro, Komaromi, Liu and Saeed (2020); AIS data collected by MarineTraffic. When consuming the data, users should understand its limitation. For a complete description of the methodology, please consult the paper, especially Sections I and VI. The earliest date available is April 1, 2015.

The data is no longer being updated and has been discontinued since December 2024.

API #

This links to the UN Comtrade Developer portal where users can request their API subscription key. Please see the following entry: UN Comtrade API.

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  • Trade
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