Which export market should you start with?

Four filters for choosing

Applied together. 🔍

Demand

Is your product bought there, and are imports growing? 📈

Access

Distance, logistics, customs and agreements; can the product arrive at a reasonable cost? 🚚

Competition

Who sells, at what price? Is there a gap? ⚔️

Fit

Standards, certificates, language, payment habits; what does compliance cost? 📋

Building a shortlist

Four steps. 📝

Gather data

Import statistics by country using your product’s tariff code. 📊

Pick five

The best five candidates through the filters. 🖐️

Score

1-3 points per filter; a total ranking. ⚖️

Two targets

At most two markets in year one; focus is kept. 🎯

Testing a market

Four routes. 🧪

Desk-based buyer search

First contacts through digital channels; see the first buyer guide. 💻

Sample and price test

Samples and quotes to a few buyers; reactions measured. 📦

Visit a fair

See it as a visitor before exhibiting; see the trade fair guide. 🏛️

A small first order

Small but real; the process is learned. 🚢

Sources

Four starting points. 📚

Ministry market information

Country reports and commercial attachés; an official source. 🏛️

Exporter associations

Sector-level market knowledge and programmes. 🤝

International trade databases

Statistics by country and product. 📊

Customers and rivals

Which markets do rivals serve? Who has asked you? 🔍

Four common mistakes

All four waste time. 🚧

Choosing through contacts

Where you know someone isn’t always the right market. 🤝

Rushing to the biggest market

Big markets mean the toughest competition. 🏟️

Many countries at once

Entering five at once means depth in none. 🌪️

Skipping compliance costs

Certificate and label costs are noticed later; see the compliance guide. 📋

What should I do today?

Three steps, one hour. 🪜

Step 1: find the tariff code

Your product’s customs tariff code; ask your broker. 🔢

Step 2: write five candidates

Using import data and rival information; five countries. 🌍

Step 3: score with four filters

Demand, access, competition, fit; the top two. ⚖️

If you want help

Let us choose your target market together: use the consult your expert form. For your current setup see the digital audit; the bigger picture sits on the foreign trade consultancy page. 🎯

Related reading from the archive: digital consulting for exporters · niche to broader market.

📝 Notes From the Field

A manufacturer began exporting to a country where it knew a distributor and spent a year on small, irregular orders. Import data was reviewed using the tariff code, five candidate countries were scored on four filters and two markets were chosen. After sample and price tests there, buyers placing regular orders were found.

📖 Short Glossary

Target market: the country chosen for export. Tariff code: a product’s international classification number. Commercial attaché: an official trade representative abroad. Compliance cost: the cost of meeting a market’s rules.

⚡ Quick Summary

A wrong market is an expensive lesson. 🌍 Choose through demand, access, competition and fit. Gather data by tariff code, score five candidates and pick at most two markets in year one. Test with desk search, samples, fair visits and a small order. Official sources and exporter associations are good starting points.

🎯 Next Step

Let us choose your target market: use the consult your expert form. Finding buyers sits in the first buyer guide; for your setup see the digital audit.

Frequently Asked Questions