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Article: GBP 1.2bn of alcohol 'spirited away' in seasonally adjusted figures
- Article from:
- Scotland on Sunday
- Article date:
- July 20, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2003 Scotland on Sunday. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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IT LOOKS like statistical manoeuvring worthy of Orwell.
'Seasonally adjusted' export figures just published by the Scottish
Executive have spirited away GBP 1.21bn of drink.
The original figure of GBP 2.5bn of drinks dispatched in 1997 has
been revised without explanation, causing frustrated forecasters who
monitor industry trends to rewrite their own records. Now they are
asking why the adjustment has been made and why it has taken six
years to downgrade the figure to GBP 1.294bn.
The figures have been published every quarter and this is the
first time in 24 quarters that the change has been made.
The revision has also meant downgrading the annual export total
for 1997 from GBP 18.953bn ...