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Accuracy and reliability

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Food Industries, Business Statistics
Simone Thun
+45 3917 3388

sit@dst.dk

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The Supply and Use of Cereals and Feed

The supply and use of cereals and feed are among other things build on sample surveys for stock of cereals at farms, the harvest of cereals and international trade of goods and the results are therefore subject to some uncertainty. The data on the use of cereals for feeding are subject to some margin of errors, as the use for feeding is calculated as a residual in the balance sheets. Surveys on stock and turnovers at cereal trading companies are censuses and the results are quite accurate. Changes in stocks are also a possibility, which can cause uncertainty.

Overall accuracy

The supply and use of cereals and feed are based on a wide range of different data sources which includes both sample surveys and censuses. There are different uncertainties on the different sources, The stock of cereals at farms have some uncertainty because of a small sample. The uncertainty is smaller on the harvest of cereals, both because of a larger sample, a high response rate and it is the largest cereals calculated on area. The feed consumption is calculated as a residual, which is affected by the uncertainty in the other factors.

Sampling error

There are some uncertainty on the stocks of cereals at farms. The sample represent a relatively small share of the population, why it is very important for the uncertainty that the response rate is high. The response rate was 99 per cent. Regarding sample errors for the statistics on harvest of cereals and international trade of goods, see Harvest of cereals etc, International trade in goods and Manufacturers’ Sales of Goods

Non-sampling error

The Supply and Use of Cereals and Feed is based on differences sources, where the uncertainty is different. The loss in the sample is 1 per cent but the sample only represent a small part of the population. The data on the feed consumption are subject to some margin of errors, as the feed consumption is calculated as a residual in the balance sheets. There is always a risk for covering more than the population when using more than one source but is thought to be insignificant for the statistics.

Quality management

Statistics Denmark follows the recommendations on organisation and management of quality given in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and the implementation guidelines given in the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF). A Working Group on Quality and a central quality assurance function have been established to continuously carry through control of products and processes.

Quality assurance

Statistics Denmark follows the principles in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and uses the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF) for the implementation of the principles. This involves continuous decentralized and central control of products and processes based on documentation following international standards. The central quality assurance function reports to the Working Group on Quality. Reports include suggestions for improvement that are assessed, decided and subsequently implemented.

Quality assessment

The statistics are compiled on the basis of different sources, each contributing with statistical inaccuracies. Especially the coverage of the stocks of cereals at trading companies is good whereas the uncertainty is larger for the data on stocks of cereals at farms because it is a relatively small sample survey. General the quality of the statistics is regarded to be very good.

Data revision - policy

Statistics Denmark revises published figures in accordance with the Revision Policy for Statistics Denmark. The common procedures and principles of the Revision Policy are for some statistics supplemented by a specific revision practice.

Data revision practice

There can be some deviations between preliminary and final statistics exist because of deviations between preliminary and final harvest statistics and between provisional and final trade statistics. The statistics is preliminary in 2,5 years after the end of the reference period.