SEARCHING FOR INCONSISTENCIES IN ORGANIC MARKET DATA – A GUIDE ON HOW TO APPLY QUALITY CHECKS FOR STATISTICS

Summary

This contribution emerged as part of the collaborative project “Data network for better European organic market information” carried out in the 7th Framework Programme of the EU. Up to now, organic market data collection has been inconsistent throughout European countries; data from different organisations and/or countries is hard to compare, because very different sampling methods, product categories, and nomenclatures have been used. Interpretations based on incomplete and inconsistent data might lead to wrong decisions and misinvestments of companies or policy divisions. The objective of this contribution is the identification of inconsistencies in organic market data which is currently available throughout Europe. Therefore plausibility checks were applied to data collected through a standardized survey in 39 countries. The inconsistencies that could be revealed were grouped according to data type and also according to data origin. The number of inconsistencies highly depends on the availability of data, which in turn depends on the country the data stems from. These inconsistencies often occur due to heterogeneous nomenclature and varying definitions of product categories. Inconsistencies in data from two subsequent years often occur because data from different sources was used. Further steps resulting from the outcome of the data plausibility checks are the compilation of a guideline for organic market data collectors, the exchange of opinions and experiences within the organic data network, and the revision of current organic market data reports.