Introduction to Intrastat

The information collected by the Intrastat system covering Northern Ireland’s trade with the EU is an important component for Balance of Payments BOP) and National Accounts (NA) data, which is regarded as an important economic indicator of the UK’s performance.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) uses the monthly trade in goods figures collected by HMRC together with the trade in services survey to produce the BOP and NA figures.

The Bank of England uses monthly trade data as part of its key indicators for gauging the state of the UK and world economic environment to set interest rates each month.

Government departments use the statistics to help set overall trade policy and generate initiatives on new trade areas.

Beyond the UK, trade statistics data are used to set trade policy and inform decisions made by such institutions as the European Central Bank, EU institutions, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund.

The commercial world uses statistics to assess markets both within the UK (for example, to assess import opportunities) and externally (for example, to establish new markets for its goods).