main characteristics. The Group felt that it could not attempt to apply such a method. However, if more time and effort were devoted .to the difficulties of / . . . A/40/421 English Page 53 comparing expenditures on military procurement, arrive at more accurate results. it would probably be possible to 131. In the calculation of PPPs for procurement, the task of matching items from different countries was made difficult by several factors. The Group relied on the suggestions o* States for the items to be priced and, potentially, to be matched. These turned out to be a small sample of all those produced or procured, which reduced the opportunity to find appropriate matches. Further, the resources readily available to the Group, as well as, perhaps , to the participating States’ contacts, did not include specialized expertise such as would be desirable for making international comparisons of procurement items. Rather than request the participating States to suggest international pairings of items, as was done, it might be preferable in future efforts to obtain appropriate expertise, to research the items known to be in production on the basis of the rather extensive international sources and reference works and to seek out items appearing to be comparable at an initial stage , which could then be adjusted in the light of the comments of States and for which prices;-would be sought. 132. It would also be desirable to obtain a greater representation of domestically produced items in the sample of matched prices. In the present exercise, many of the acceptable Price’comparisons among countries turned out to be for items with the same national origin, but domestic in one case and imported in another. Thus, imported Procurement items may be overrepresented in the Group's sample. 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the challenges and limitations of comparing expenditures on military procurement across different countries. It highlights the difficulties in matching items from different countries, the lack of specialized expertise, and the potential for bias in the sample. The text suggests ways to improve the methodology, such as seeking out comparable items and obtaining a greater representation of domestically produced items.

**Category**
International trade, Industry