Commodity Balance

A commodity balance (an energy commodity balance) shows the sources of supply and the various uses of a single, particular energy product with reference to the national territory of the compiling country. A commodity balance can be compiled for any energy commodity. Countries may use various formats depending on their needs and circumstances, but it is recommended that the format of the energy balance and all applicable concepts defined in IRES be used consistently in compiling a commodity balance, to ensure data consistency [IRES, Ch. VIII, para. 8.55, PDF p. 126, 2018] — recommendations tracker row VIII/8.55.

Unit of measurement

The unit of measurement used in commodity balances is usually the original unit appropriate for the energy product in question (e.g., metric tons for coal). However, a non-original energy unit (e.g., tonne of oil equivalent or terajoule) can be used as well [IRES, Ch. VIII, para. 8.56, PDF p. 126, 2018].

Format (template)

In general, a commodity balance can be compiled in a format similar to that of energy balances, though not all flows (rows) may be applicable for every product. The commonly shown flows are [IRES, Ch. VIII, para. 8.57, PDF p. 126, 2018]:

• Production (primary or secondary)
• Production from other sources
• Imports
• Exports
• International bunkers
• Stock changes
• Supply
• Statistical difference
• Transfers
• Transformation input
• Energy industries own use
• Losses
• Final consumption
• Final energy consumption
• Non-energy use

(For the definitions of and relationships between these terms, see the Chapter V flow pages linked above [IRES, Ch. VIII, para. 8.57, footnote 68, PDF p. 126, 2018].)

The most commonly used presentation format is the commodity balance in which both the sources of supply and the uses for the commodity are shown in a single column [IRES, Ch. VIII, para. 8.58, PDF p. 127, 2018].

Recommended for every commodity in national use

It is recommended that commodity balances be constructed at the national level for every energy commodity in use, however minor, with certain commodities aggregated for working purposes where necessary. Commodity balances should be considered the basic framework for the compilation of national energy statistics, and a valuable accounting tool for constructing both energy balances and higher aggregates. A key indicator of the data quality of each product is its statistical difference row (see para. 8.45) [IRES, Ch. VIII, para. 8.59, PDF p. 127, 2018] — recommendations tracker row VIII/8.59.

Structural differences from the (overall) energy balance

Commodity balances provide detail on the physical flows involving one energy product, and do not consider the interrelationships between different products; this single-product focus produces two structural departures from the layout of an overall energy balance:

(a) Secondary output is “production,” not a transformation output. Because commodity balances do not track the interrelationships between different products, it is logical to treat secondary production as “production” — in line with the concept of production used in other areas of statistics — rather than as the “output of transformation”;

(b) No negative sign on transformation input. Correspondingly, there is no need to show transformation inputs as a negative quantity, unlike the sign convention used in an energy balance, where transformation inputs are shown as negative and outputs as positive (see the energy balance’s transformation sign convention, para. 8.30).

[IRES, Ch. VIII, para. 8.60, PDF p. 127, 2018]

(c) Blended-fuel content is retained, not split out. Energy balances need to distinguish between fossil and non-fossil fuels, both to show what share of the total is renewable and to accurately calculate greenhouse gas inventories. Commodity balances, by contrast, are more concerned with the quantities of the commodity consumed and the form in which they are consumed — for example, a commodity balance for motor gasoline will include any quantities of blended biofuels within it, in contrast to an energy balance, which splits such blends into their fossil and non-fossil components [IRES, Ch. VIII, para. 8.61, PDF p. 127, 2018].

Related

• IRES Chapter VIII — Energy Balances — the chapter digest this page supports
• Energy Balance — the overall accounting framework a commodity balance follows in format and concepts, with the structural differences noted above
• Statistical Difference — the data-quality diagnostic row shared by both energy and commodity balances; a commodity balance’s own statistical difference can help explain a large statistical difference in the overall energy balance