Export unit value and import price index

Foreign trade price indices are indicators describing price dynamics of exported and imported goods. These indices are used for calculating the Gross Domestic Product at constant prices, as well as for the purposes of economic analysis.

Units surveyed – CN codes.

Responding units – Enterprises.

In order to calculate the EUVI and IPI, foreign trade information on the previous year is analysed, selecting those codes of the Combined Nomenclature on the lowest 8-digit level where during a year the export value at FOB prices* or import volume at CIF prices** in the country altogether exceeds 0.01% of total export or import value and during the year export/import activities have been recorded for at least 8 months. Items with large fluctuations of the average monthly prices are not included in the sample.

Enterprises with the largest share (by value) in the respective CN code are involved into import prices survey. For further price collection enterprises select goods (item representatives) that are imported regularly and in large amounts.

* FOB price – price of a good, which is made up by value of a good, including costs of transportation and insurance to the border of export country.

** CIF price – price of a good, which is made up by value of a good, including costs of transportation and insurance to the border of import country.

EU-level legal acts:

• European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics (Text with EEA relevance).
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics (Text with EEA relevance).

Statistics database

According to requirements set to countries of euro area, since 2014 IPI (previously IUVI) must be calculated and sent to the Eurostat accordingly trade transactions with countries of euro area and non-euro area. This breakdown is applied to sections B, C, D of CPA Rev. 2.1 and separate main groupings of manufacturing. To ensure data comparability among countries, indices coverage and level of detailed elaboration published by the Eurostat is narrower and differs from coverage of indices published in the CSB database. Eurostat data do not cover sections A and E of CPA Rev. 2.1. Due to differences in the number of decimals to be published Eurostat and the data available in CSB databases may slightly differ due to rounding adjustments.

EU data on Eurostat website Section: Industry.

Comparable data by CPA Rev. 2.1 classification are available since 2011. Since 2014, indices are also available in a breakdown by market area.

Starting with 2018 IUVI indicator is calculated as price index (on the basis of Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council). When moving to price index, unit value is not used.

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For the calculation of export unit value and import price indices the CSB Foreign trade statistical data base and the submitted statistical report forms on the prices of imported goods (1-ic, 2-ic) and corresponding industrial producer price indices of heterogeneous groups of export goods are used.

For the calculation of foreign trade price indices Foreign trade statistics database of the CSB is used.

In 2025, a total of 195 classes of CPA Rev. 2.1. were represented in IPI sample, and 186 classes of CPA Rev. 2.1 – in EUVI sample. For the calculation of EUVI, additionally information from the producer price index for exported production is used (124 classes of CPA Rev. 2.1). Foreign trade data is used by EUVI for more than 0.3 thousand CN codes. IPI calculations are based on approximately 8.9 thousand prices obtained by surveying 1 496 enterprises (303 enterprises submit form No. 1-IC, for others – foreign trade statistics database is used). In total, EUVI sample includes approximately 91 % of the total volume of CN codes in exports of Latvia, and IPI approximately 73 % of the codes in imports of Latvia.

For the calculation of EUVI and IPI a Laspeyres type formula is applied. Indices are calculated starting from the lowest level. As the weights the export/import volume in the terms of value of the previous year is used according to sections and divisions of the CPA Rev. 2.1 (Statistical classification of products by activity). Prices of December of the previous year or average unit values are used as the basis for price comparison.