Datadory notebook

Eu Comext Trade Data Download Data: Dataset Structure and Field Coverage

1,744 datasets. Pick your catch. Every guide here is built on what the catalog can actually prove.

1,744 datasets. Pick your catch.

Which dataset IDs carry the CN8 and HS detail?

The Comext domain exposes its own DS-prefixed codes rather than the ESTAT codes used elsewhere in Eurostat. Three matter for product-level work: DS-059322, EU trade since 2002 by HS2-4-6 and CN8; DS-059330, EU trade since 2002 by CN sections; and the Europroms pair DS-059367 and DS-059358, which tie sold production to exports and imports by PRODCOM list. An unfiltered DS-059367 query returned a 19.4 MB JSON payload, decomposing into freq, reporter, product, indicators and TIME_PERIOD dimensions.

Two warnings come from the same research pass. The legacy code DS-066341 and the old estat-navtree-portlet-prod BulkDownloadListing URLs returned 404 and appear retired, so pin any scheduled pull to the DS-059xxx generation. Scale is also real: the wider Eurostat SDMX structure lists 8,150 dataflows, which means resolving the exact flow before scripting extracts rather than browsing your way to it.

How do you pull a CN8-level hardware import panel, step by step?

A repeatable route from nothing to a clean series:

  1. Pin the dataset ID. Start from DS-059322 for HS2-4-6 and CN8 detail since 2002, or DS-059330 if CN-section totals answer the question.
  2. Use the comext dissemination path. DS-059xxx sets are served from ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/comext/dissemination/..., while core Eurostat datasets live under /api/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/ — mixing the two is the most common first-call failure.
  3. Filter explicitly. Pass format=JSON&lang=EN plus dimension parameters freq, reporter, product, indicators and TIME_PERIOD rather than requesting whole universes.
  4. Bound the window with the sinceTimePeriod and lastTimePeriod parameters instead of open-ended ranges.
  5. Choose the measure deliberately. The indicators dimension separates values from quantities in the trade sets, and sold production, exports and imports in the Europroms sets; price work needs value divided by quantity.
  6. Treat ':' as missing. That special value denotes not available, so drop or impute those cells before charting.
  7. Re-pull recent windows. Published figures are subject to ongoing revision, and some intra-EU detail releases later than extra-EU figures, so refresh the newest two to three reference months each cycle.
  8. Join the American counterpart. USA Trade Online builds US import/export reports by Harmonized System or NAICS commodity code across partner country, state, customs district and port — monthly from January 2002, annually from 1992 — exported as JSON, CSV or XLSX under a 2-million-cell report limit.

Where does Comext sit in the nine-dataset technology-distributors pool?

Each answers a different distribution question. MWTS tracks US demand monthly: the NAICS 4234 professional and commercial equipment line and its 42343 Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment and Software component carry sales, end-of-month inventories and inventories-to-sales ratios from January 1992, in keyless Excel workbooks beside a keyed Census time-series API. County Business Patterns counts the footprint — establishment, employment and payroll measures by six-digit NAICS down to ZIP code, split into nine employment-size classes, with the verified 12.7 MB cbp23co.zip county file and CSV history back to 1986. USA Trade Online mirrors Comext on the American side, and OpenCorporates verifies the counterparties behind the flows across over 140 government registries.

Where to go next

The technology-distributors data guide maps all nine pooled technology-distributors datasets and shows where European trade flows sit beside US wholesale sales, establishment counts and entity checks. Sibling guides cover wholesale computer sales monthly data for the demand side and US electronics imports by country for the US trade mirror of these CN8 pulls; the pool itself is browsable on the technology-distributors data hub, starting with the free technology-distributors datasets list.

Pick up where this leaves off

Every one of these ships with sample rows before you commit to anything.

Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods EU-27, euro area

Eurostat Data Browser — Apparel, Textiles & Trade (PRODCOM, COMEXT)

Want rows instead of a pitch? Name the datasets.

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Questions worth asking

Is EU Comext trade data accessible on demand?

Yes. Eurostat publishes Comext under its free re-use policy with commercial delivery terms 4.0 attribution, and Datadory's verification pass confirmed unauthenticated access with no registration or integration key. Detailed trade files run from January 1988 to the latest reference month, and the warehouse refreshes twice daily at 11:00 and 23:00 CET.

Which Comext dataset covers EU trade by CN8 and HS code?

DS-059322 covers EU trade since 2002 by HS2-4-6 and CN8 product code, and DS-059330 covers the same span by CN sections. The Europroms sets DS-059367 and DS-059358 add sold production, exports and imports by PRODCOM list. Legacy code DS-066341 and the old BulkDownloadListing URLs return 404 and appear retired.

Is there a dataset specifically about technology distributors?

No dataset carries Technology Distributors as its primary industry tag; Datadory pools 9 related records from adjacent sectors, 8 of them free. For European trade the pool leans on the Eurostat Data Browser record with Comext files by reporter, partner and CN8 code, while MWTS tracks the US 42343 computer wholesaler line from January 1992.