Variant of NAPCS Canada 2017 Version 2.0 – Agricultural goods - Background information

Status

The variant of the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) Canada for agricultural goods has been approved as a departmental standard. The first agricultural goods variant was based on NAPCS Canada 2012, yet it was not implemented. A new updated variant has now been developed and adapted to NAPCS Canada 2017 Version 2.0 and has been approved on November 27, 2017.

Transition to NAPCS Canada 2017

In the past, the standard classification for agricultural goods was not used by the Agriculture Division. An existing classification that included agriculture goods in the Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM 2004 – List of Goods), did not meet the needs of the Agriculture Division's programs. At the same time, the standard classification of NAPCS Canada did not have enough detail to meet the needs of all the Agriculture Division programs. Thus, an extension variant for agricultural goods has been developed to meet those specific needs. This variant is generally an extension of the four levels of the standard NAPCS Canada. However, some of the higher levels of the standard classification were adjusted in order to be aligned with various data tables from Agriculture division. For example, class 11411-Fresh fruit and nuts, is decomposed into 11411A-Fresh fruit and 11411B-Nuts. In addition, the scope of some groups has been modified, e.g., 213-Cannabis products was changed to 213A-Cannabis seeds, vegetative plants and flowering tops (including leaves). These to account only for agricultural-type cannabis products.

This variant will continue to be updated as agriculture data form part of Statistics Canada's Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP).

The standard NAPCS Canada has been adopted by most Statistics Canada programs that have a product dimension.

There are several benefits to converting to NAPCS Canada:

1. Most Statistics Canada programs with a product dimension will adopt NAPCS Canada. As a result, Statistics Canada data will be coherent and consistent.
2. Some products produced in Canada today did not exist a few years ago. Converting to a new classification system will allow products to be classified more accurately.
3. By using NAPCS Canada, we insure alignment with the macro-economic accounts, the prices programs and the merchandise accounts.
4. Statistical programs in the United States and Mexico may also release data based on NAPCS. In these cases, international comparisons of product data will be easier.

NAPCS Canada variant for agricultural goods

The NAPCS Canada 2017 Version 2.0 contains 158 groups (3-digits), of which only 8 groups are related to agricultural goods. These groups from code 111 to 121 and group 213 are included in this variant; in most cases these goods represent farm output. Processed agricultural goods are not included in the variant. However, the variant does include unprocessed fishery products.

Two additional levels of detail were created below the standard four-level NAPCS Canada, to meet the needs of the Agriculture Division. The first variant level below the detail level, which is made of 8-digits codes, comprises 283 categories, while the second level, which is made of 9-digits codes, comprises 378 categories.

Two groups, classes and subclasses of the standard classification were respectively recoded and renamed to align with the scope of various data tables from Agriculture Division: 121A-Fish and shellfish and 213A-Cannabis seeds, vegetative plants and flowering tops (including leaves). Standard class 11411-Fresh fruit and nuts was decomposed in two separate classes for fresh fruit (11411A) and fresh nuts (11411B). Standard class 12111-Fish, crustaceans, shellfish and other fishery products, is also changed to 12111A-Fish and shellfish, while two standard subclasses from this later class were also changed to 121111A-Live fish and shellfish and 121113A-Shellfish (except live).

See "Hierarchical structure" for a detailed presentation of the levels and code structures of the variant.

Hierarchical structure

The structure of the NAPCS Canada 2017 Version 2.0 variant for agricultural goods is hierarchical. It is composed of six levels.

level 1: group (three-digit standard codes or four-character alphanumeric variant codes) 
level 2: class (five-digit standard codes or six-character alphanumeric variant codes) 
level 3: subclass (six-digit standard codes)
level 4: detail (seven-digit standard codes)
level 5: detail (eight-digit variant codes)
level 6: detail (nine-digit variant codes)