1. Role and importance of Distributive Trade Statistics Workshop for African countries on the Implementation of International Recommendations for Distributive Trade Statistics May 2008, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
UNITED NATIONS STATISTICS DIVISION
Trade Statistics Branch
Distributive Trade Statistics Section

2. Role and Importance of Distributive Trade (1)
Contribution of service activities, incl. DT, in terms of VA and employment is steadily increasing
DT ensures the principal link between the producer and the end consumer
DT plays a major role in price formation
Demand for internationally comparable data on detailed (structural) and short-term DTS is increasing even more

3. Role and Importance of Distributive Trade (2)
Organization of trade has evolved a lot and statistics need to reflect the new tendencies
Structure and performance of DT vary widely from one country to another
Common features - large number of units and relatively high births and deaths rates
Informal sector units - typical for developing countries; complicate statistical observation

4. Trends in Distributive Trade (1)
Increasing concentration
Companies need to be large to compete and achieve economies of scale and scope
Concentration first at the domestic market, then abroad
Formation of joint purchasing groups
Food retailers are signing agreements with major food producers to more effectively compete with others – franchising, retail chains etc.
Expansion of E-commerce
Strong growth of both B2B and B2C e-commerce worldwide

5. Trends in Distributive Trade (2)
Frequent vertical integration of the wholesale and retail trades, with growing sales of own-brand products
Traditional distinction between wholesale and retail distribution is becoming increasingly difficult to make
Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, which were traditionally independent now increasingly co-operate
Increasing internationalisation
DT provides a link between producers and buyers operating on the global markets as importers and exporters

6. Challenges of compiling DTS (1)
Need of integrated approach to compilation of DTS at national level
Ensures coherence between:
Annual and short-term DTS
Data derived from different data sources
DTS and statistics for other economic activities
DTS and NA
Ensures consistency of concepts definitions and terminology
Ensures uniformity in international reporting

7. Challenges of compiling DTS (2)
Comparable data on value added and employment in distributive trade is hardly available at the international level
Different methodologies used by countries for compiling DTS
Different classifications
Different statistical units from which data are collected
NA is the only source used for analysing distributive trade sector

11. More about distributive trade in Africa
Contribution of section G of ISIC to GDP
Stable tendency for the last 5-6 years – 12,5% on average (without 2006)
Highest contribution – Mozambique (23%)
Countries above the average – Senegal (17%), Egypt (14%), Zambia (18-19%)
Lowest contribution – Swaziland (5%)
The scope of section G in previous versions of ISIC is different from ISIC, Rev.4 recommended in IRDTS 2008
ISIC, Rev. 3.1 includes repair of personal and household goods
ISIC, Rev.2 includes hotels and restaurants

12. Users of DTS (1) Compilers of national accounts
Measuring the trade output and valued added
Compilation of supply and use tables and input-output tables
Trade margins by commodity and by industry
Combination and reconciliation of DTS with data from household expenditure surveys and production statistics
Estimation of households final consumption expenditures on the basis of retail trade sales by commodity groups
Compilation of quarterly national accounts using short-term indicators of distributive trade
Compilation of monthly or quarterly index of services production

13. Users of DTS (2) Policy makers Business community Researchers
Assessment of short and long-term movements in DT sector and in a country’s economy as a whole
Rationalization of economic policies, including monetary policy
Sub-national (regional/provincial) analysis
Formulation of international policy
Business community
Assessment and forecasting of the dynamics of the wholesale and retail trade markets
Evaluation of performance and competitiveness of various sub-sectors of distributive trade both nationally and internationally
Researchers
Economic analysis and studies
Monitoring of economic trends and developing forecasts
Market research for the sales of particular group of products etc.
General public
Evaluation of economic conditions, employment and income perspectives in order to make more informed decisions

14. UNSD work programme in the area of DTS
Preparation of two follow up manuals providing practical guidance on the IRDTS 2008 implementation
Distributive Trade Statistics: Compilers Manual
Indices of Distributive Trade: A Handbook of Good Practices
Collection of DTS data and metadata
Design of a pilot version of DTS database

15. Thank You