Chapter 5 The faoswsForestryAggregation module

The module faoswsForestryAggregation comprehend the main step in the Forestry Production and Trade process as it calculates the aggregates by region and item that will be disseminated through FAOSTAT.

Workflow of the faoswsForestryAggregation module

Figure 5.1: Workflow of the faoswsForestryAggregation module

5.1 Steps

The module can be basically split into four parts as below.

5.1.1 Read in the data

The module uses the forestry_prod_trade dataset as input. According to the technical unit, they will be constantly changing this dataset throughout the data cycle, specially when new data come in or the officers decide to make changes based on their domain knowledge.

5.1.2 Get regional aggregation

After reading in the input dataset, the module geographically aggregates the primary commodities based on FAOSTAT - UNSD M49 mapping. Please, for a full representation of this table consult either the Appendix A.11 or this link.

5.1.3 Get Forestry commodity aggregation

Once a data set with regional aggregate is ready, the module moves to producing commodity aggregations at the national and regional levels. Since there is an interplay between commodity groups, the module carries the aggregation in tandem, with three commodity groups being aggregated first and then rest of aggregates.

Table 5.1: First commodity groups to be calculated by the faoswsForestryAggregation module
CommodityGroup CommodityGroupName CommodityCode CommodityName
1656 Chemical wood pulp 1660 Chemical wood pulp, sulphite, unbleached
1656 Chemical wood pulp 1661 Chemical wood pulp, sulphite, bleached
1656 Chemical wood pulp 1662 Chemical wood pulp, sulphate, unbleached
1656 Chemical wood pulp 1663 Chemical wood pulp, sulphate, bleached
1656 Chemical wood pulp 1686 Chemical wood pulp, sulphite
1674 Printing and writing papers 1612 Printing and writing papers, uncoated, wood containing
1674 Printing and writing papers 1615 Printing and writing papers, uncoated, wood free
1674 Printing and writing papers 1616 Printing and writing papers, coated
1675 Other paper and paperboard 1676 Household and sanitary papers
1675 Other paper and paperboard 1681 Wrapping and packaging paper and paperboard
1675 Other paper and paperboard 1683 Other paper and paperboard n.e.s.
1675 Other paper and paperboard 1617 Case materials
1675 Other paper and paperboard 1618 Cartonboard
1675 Other paper and paperboard 1621 Wrapping papers
1675 Other paper and paperboard 1622 Other papers mainly for packaging


5.1.4 Get Unit values

Once the import and export figures are calculated for values and quantity, the unit price, which is the quotient between values and quantity, can be easily calculated for both primary and group commodities at the national and regional levels.

5.1.5 Get back the original flags

With unit values already in the data sets (national and regional), the last step is to recovery the flags from the original input. Data records added during the processing come either from geographic or commodity aggregation. Therefore, these records have “E” (Aggregation) as flagObservationStatus and “s” (summation) as flagMethod.

5.1.6 Convert FAOSTAT regions to SWS regions

The processed regional data set uses FAOSTAT codes for regions. To be able to save the results in the SWS, regions must be converted to SWS regional codes compatible with the geographicAreaM49 in the forestry_prod_trade_agg dataset. For this, the module uses the following function.

5.1.7 Binding national and regional data

Binding national and regional data sets.

5.1.8 Compare before and after aggregations

As a validation tool, the faoswsForestryAggregation module also needs to return what has changed from the input dataset. The module flags values where the absolute difference between the input dataset and the aggregate dataset is higher than 0.1.

5.1.9 Save data in the SWS Share Drive and database

The data with primary and grouped commodities at the national and regional levels can be accessed by the user as a csv file in the SWS shared drive. The full data is saved in the folder ForestryProdAndTrade -> output -> faoswsForestryAggregation -> results, whereas the comparison csv file is saved in the folder ForestryProdAndTrade -> output -> faoswsForestryAggregation -> comparisons. Every time the module runs these files are updated. In the SWS - database, the data is found in the dataset forestry_prod_trade_agg.

5.2 Running the module

  1. Log in the SWS;

  2. Click on New Query;

  3. Select Forestry domain and forestry_prod_trade_agg dataset;

  4. Select whatever geographicAreaM49, measuredElement, measuredItemForestry and timePointYears. After that, run the query;

    Steps 1 to 4

    Figure 5.2: Steps 1 to 4


  5. Select the faoswsForestryAggregation module, choose the parameters (Start and End year) and click on Run plugin;


Select the faoswsForestryAggregation plugin and run it

Figure 5.3: Select the faoswsForestryAggregation plugin and run it


6. Wait for a window message to appear in the session: ForestryAggregation module ran successfully!!!;
7. Click on Save to dataset.