Wool Price Survey

Detailed information for 2008

The survey collects the data needed to produce statistics on the annual volume and value of wool purchased from Canadian farmers.

Data release - February 16, 2010

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The survey collects data on the quantity of wool purchased as well as prices for Canada and the provinces. Data are used by processors, producers and related organizations. The information is also used by federal and provincal governments for forecasting, budgeting, planning and administering programs.

Reference period: Calendar year

Collection period: During the year following the reference year

Subjects

• Agriculture and food (formerly Agriculture)
• Livestock and aquaculture

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population consists of all establishments purchasing wool directly from Canadian producers during the reference year.

The observed population consists of all establishments purchasing wool directly from Canadian producers found on Statistics Canada Business Register as of the last day of the reference year (including establishments active for a part of the reference year).

Instrument design

The questionnaire was designed using existing knowledge and expertise. It was last revised in 2003. The changes reflected new standards and guidelines.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore, no sampling is done.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2009-04-01 to 2009-11-30

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

The Wool Price Survey is conducted in all provinces from April 1 to November 30 in the year following the reference year. Data are collected through a mail-out/mail-back process. The basic mailing list covers all establishments purchasing wool directly from producers. The mailing list is updated as new buyers are identified. The same questionnaire is used in all provinces.

Data are collected on the quantities purchased, the province of origin of the wool and the prices paid to the producers.

Follow-up is carried out on non-response when necessary.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

Edits and error detection are performed at the micro level during data capture and analysis.

Imputation

Manual imputation is performed at the micro level using both historical and donor methods.

Estimation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Quality evaluation

A trend analysis is performed but no other sources for the data are available. A peer review is effected prior to release.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

In order to prevent any data disclosure, confidentiality analysis is done using the Statistics Canada Generalized Disclosure Control System (G-Confid). G-Confid is used for primary suppression (direct disclosure) as well as for secondary suppression (residual disclosure). Direct disclosure occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of or dominated by few enterprises while residual disclosure occurs when confidential information can be derived indirectly by piecing together information from different sources or data series.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

This methodology does not apply to this survey.

Data accuracy

The Wool Price Survey is a census and therefore, there is no error due to sampling. However, the survey is subject to non-sampling errors such as non-response or other non-sampling errors that may occur at almost every phase of a survey operation. Respondents may make errors in answering questions, the answers may be incorrectly captured and errors may be introduced in the processing and tabulation of the data.

Quality assurance and control methods were implemented according to Statistics Canada's standard practices at each step of the data collection and processing cycle to monitor the quality of the data. These measures included edit rules designed to detect missing, invalid or inconsistent data.

The response rate covers over 90% of the purchases of wool.