EU SUPPORT BOOSTS CARICOM MERCHANDISE TRADE STATISTICS

Georgetown, April 2- As efforts continue to provide core, high quality statistics to regional decision-makers for the establishment and monitoring of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), staff members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat on Monday were brought up to date on new systems for Merchandise Trade Statistics.

A consultancy in that regard got underway this week with a briefing session at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana.

The consultancy is being funded by the European Union under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and Economic Integration Programme. It will build on work done under the Ninth EDF by reinforcing the capacity of the national and Secretariat’s statistical offices to produce and disseminate Merchandise Trade Statistics.

Support to Merchandise Trade Statistics under the Tenth EDF centres on the New Eurotrace system for trade data processing and dissemination. This was installed in countries under the Ninth EDF and has been enhanced by Eurostat.

It is expected that under the project the quality of trade data and its processing in Member States and at the Secretariat will be enhanced as well as its dissemination and analysis. Human resource capacity in the field will also be improved through training of -trainers in the New Eurotrace, Comext, Mirror Statistics and Trade Indices Modules.

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