## Uganda: The Informal Cross Border Trade Survey

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Uganda: The Informal Cross Border Trade Survey](https://www.imf.org/en/data/statistics/informal-economy-data/reports/uganda-the-informal-cross-border-trade-survey)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/data/statistics/informal-economy-data/reports/uganda-the-informal-cross-border-trade-survey/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/data/statistics/informal-economy-data/reports/uganda-the-informal-cross-border-trade-survey/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/data/statistics/informal-economy-data/reports/uganda-the-informal-cross-border-trade-survey/bundle-manifest.json)

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### Introduction and background
- Uganda started the Informal Cross Border Trade Survey (ICBT) to bridge gaps in external trade statistics identified by a 2003 baseline survey that revealed informal cross border trade was a significant component of merchandise trade between Uganda and neighbouring countries.
- The full scale ICBT survey was launched in 2007 and has since been conducted consistently over the years.
- Main objectives:
  - Reduce data gaps in the balance of payments (BoP) and national accounts (NA) statistics.
  - Establish the main commodities traded informally.
  - Determine the value and volumes traded.
  - Ascertain the direction of trade.

### Scope
- Current coverage:
  - 20 border posts distributed across the country.
  - 4 bus terminals which are departure/arrival points for buses destined to/arriving from neighboring countries.
- Border selection factors:
  - Volume of trade captured by the Customs Department.
  - Security.
  - Transport and communication links.
  - Availability of supporting institutions like Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Uganda Police, other security agencies and Immigration offices.
- Survey coverage definition:
  - Transactions in goods between residents and non-residents not documented in the official customs clearance system and therefore not included in official trade statistics.
  - Includes goods entering or leaving at border posts but not captured by customs irrespective of the value; goods not declared or partially declared on customs documents; goods loaded or offloaded at bus terminals destined to or originating from foreign countries.
  - Exclusions: smuggled goods, transit goods, and goods crossing border points beyond working hours.

### Methodology
- Monitoring schedule:
  - Data collection is done over a period of two consecutive weeks in a given month, and estimates are uprated to cover the entire month.
  - Enumerators observe and record all merchandise entering and leaving the country between 7:00am and 6:00pm.
- Staffing:
  - Number of enumerators per border post ranges between two (2) and six (6), depending on volume of trade.
  - Survey team comprises Enumerators, data Entrants and data Editors recruited from Bank of Uganda (BOU) and Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS).
  - Minimum qualification: Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) with credits in Mathematics and English at Uganda Ordinary Level of Education; higher qualifications are an advantage.
  - Candidates are interviewed; enumerators undergo training prior to deployment (normally at the beginning of every financial year) including a simulation exercise.
- Data collection methods and instruments:
  - Main method: direct observation with occasional interaction with traders for clarification.
  - Local units of measure established for main items; enumerators sometimes weigh items to ascertain quantities.
  - Data recorded initially in a counter book, then transferred to Summary Form A (summary by commodity, quantity, price, mode of transport, country of origin/destination).
  - Vehicle form used to capture trade data of commodities ferried on vehicles at busy border posts.

### Compilation practices
- Valuation conventions:
  - Exports valued on a free on board (FoB) basis.
  - Imports valued at cost insurance and freight (cif).
- Price collection:
  - Prices of traded goods are collected from around the border on a daily basis.
- Coding and integration:
  - Data processing involves coding into HS and SITC nomenclatures for merging with customs data.
- Treatment of partial monitoring and missing data:
  - Because data is collected for only two weeks a month, an uprating model is used to derive estimates for the weeks not monitored.
  - Missing data due to failure to conduct the survey in a given period is estimated using standard linear interpolation and extrapolation models.
- Consistency and validation:
  - Consistency checks and other data validation procedures applied during processing.

### Dissemination
- Two major dissemination channels:
  - Integration into merchandise trade statistics disseminated by BOU and UBOS and included in the country’s balance of payments statement; available on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.
  - ICBT Annual Report: publishes findings, detailed description of methodology, uprating models, and other information about the survey.
- Both dissemination categories are accessible via the websites of BOU and UBOS.

### Challenges
- Funding:
  - The survey requires a huge and consistent flow of funds; insufficient resources can result in months not being monitored and hinder assessment of seasonality effects. Funding is currently shared between BOU and UBOS.
- Mapping to international nomenclatures:
  - Transforming ICBT data into HS and SITC is often long and tedious because some items are recorded in local names that may not have direct matches.
- Quantification difficulties:
  - Some items lack standard units of measure (e.g., live animals).
- Concealment and trader behavior:
  - Traders may conceal items through bulk packaging and/or repackaging, forcing enumerators to rely on trader-provided information that may be incorrect.
- Recording and pricing of assorted goods:
  - Assorted packs (e.g., vehicle spare parts) complicate recording and quantification because individual parts differ in form, weight, purpose and price; recording individually is ideal but not always possible.

### Comparison with the COMESA SSCBT
- Differences:
  - Uganda’s ICBT survey focuses mainly on merchandise trade and does not capture cross border services trade.
  - COMESA Small Scale Cross Border Trade (SSCBT) program captures both merchandise and services trade and includes variables such as "gender of the trader".
- Harmonization plans:
  - Plans are at an advanced stage to capture the variable “gender of the trader” in the ICBT survey to harmonize with other stakeholders.

### Conclusions and key statistics
- Utility:
  - Since inception, the ICBT survey has provided useful information to bridge the gap in external trade statistics.
- Informal trade contribution:
  - Over the last five (5) years, informal trade has on average accounted for about 14.0 percent of total export earnings.
- Net position:
  - Overall, Uganda remains a net exporter under informal trade.

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## References

- [Informal Economy Reports](https://www.imf.org/en/data/statistics/informal-economy-data/reports)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/data/statistics/informal-economy-data/reports/uganda-the-informal-cross-border-trade-survey_