- May 3, 2021
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Current News
International trade statistics play a vital role in the analysis of macroeconomic developments in national economies. However, challenges remain in the generation of such statistics within the region, owing to deficiencies in robust data collection systems, weaknesses in compilation and dissemination, as well as poor institutional coordination, among others. This calls for continuous capacity building on the compilation of international trade statistics in the region.
The challenges faced by the MEFMI region are mostly pronounced for trade in services, which are inherently more difficult to measure due to their intangibility. Furthermore, the increasing globalisation of production processes and new developments in information and communication technologies pose new methodological challenges. The growing importance of e-commerce, which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, requires that compilers are proficient with new approaches to collect trade-related data.
Against this background, MEFMI partnered with the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), and the Statistics Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to offer a virtual course on International Trade in Goods and Services Statistics during the period 12 to 16 April 2021. A total of 50 officials (19 female and 31 male), comprising 17 from the WAIFEM region and 33 from the MEFMI region, participated in the course.
The course strengthened participants’ understanding of the conceptual and methodological framework governing the compilation of international trade statistics and their various data sources. The course also addressed emerging data challenges related to the compilation of these statistics, such as informal cross-border transactions, digital trade, and more recently the disruption of data sources as a result of the lockdowns induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
MEFMI expects that participants will apply the knowledge and skills gained from the course to improve the quality of trade data in their countries, and to explore various data sources to close existing gaps. The availability of timely and reliable trade statistics will subsequently support the formulation of favourable trade and investment policies in MEFMI member countries.