How to find export buyers with trade data: customs records and free alternatives

Most export sales start with the same problem: you know your product sells abroad, but not who buys it. A distributor in Mexico, a wholesaler in Germany and a retail chain in the UAE all buy from someone today. Trade data can show you who they are, what they import, how often, and from which of your competitors.

This guide works from the cheapest sources to the most expensive. It covers the free US government data that tells you where to look, the shipment-level records that name the companies, the paid databases that package those records, the Commercial Service programs that will do the search for you, and how to turn a list of importers into conversations.

Start with your product code

Every traded product has a Harmonized System (HS) code. The first six digits are shared by every country that uses the system, and countries add digits of their own. In the US, export codes are called Schedule B numbers and run to ten digits. Almost every trade data source is searched by these codes, so finding the right one comes first.

Look up your product on the Census Bureau's Schedule B search, and note both the six-digit code and the full ten-digit one. If two or three codes could fit, keep all of them. Your competitors may classify the same product differently, and you'll want to see their shipments too.

Free data that tells you where to look

The Census Bureau's USA Trade Online is free.^⁠[2] You create an account and can pull US exports and imports by product code and by country, down to the 10-digit level, with annual data back to 1992 and monthly data from 2002. Data download as CSV files you can open in a spreadsheet.^⁠[1]

What it shows is totals, not company names. That is still the right place to start, because it answers three questions before you spend anything:

• Which countries already buy this product from the US, and how much each bought last year.
• Which markets are growing. A country whose imports doubled in three years is more promising than a large one that is flat.
• What a unit sells for. Value divided by quantity gives a rough average price per unit for each destination, which tells you whether your pricing can compete.

A shortlist of two or three target countries is the useful output. Searching everywhere at once spreads a small team too thin.

What customs records show

Once you know where to look, shipment-level data tells you who to talk to. A bill of lading is the document a carrier issues for each ocean shipment, and the customs and manifest records built on it usually show:

• The importer, or consignee, and often its address.
• The shipper, meaning the exporter who sent the goods.
• A description of the goods, often with the HS code.
• Weight, quantity and sometimes value.
• Ports and dates of loading and arrival.

Put together over a year, these records show which companies import your product, how often they order, how large each order is, and who supplies them today. That last point is the most useful. An importer who buys from a competitor every month is a buyer who already understands the product.

Where the data comes from, and its gaps

Countries treat shipment data very differently.

• The United States discloses information from vessel manifests for ocean imports. Commercial databases collect and clean it. But under 19 CFR 103.31, any importer can ask Customs and Border Protection to keep its name and address confidential, and many large companies do.^⁠[6]
• Many other countries publish import and export records at the transaction level, sometimes with the importer's name and the declared value. Coverage, detail and delay differ from one country to the next.
• Some countries publish nothing below aggregate statistics, and the European Union generally doesn't release company-level customs records.

Air freight, courier shipments and goods moving by land are often missing or thinner than ocean freight. So customs data is strongest for products that travel in containers, and weakest for small, high-value goods sent by air. Before you pay for any database, check its coverage for the specific countries on your shortlist.

Paid customs-record databases

Several companies collect shipment records from many countries, clean the company names, and let you search by product, country or company. Volza is one of them, alongside ImportGenius, Panjiva (part of S&P Global) and others. They differ in which countries they cover, how far back the data goes, how they handle the names of companies, and whether they include contact details.

Volza lists three annual plans, checked on October 7, 2026:^⁠[7]

It also has a free trial with limited credits.^⁠[7] Use the trial to run your product codes against your shortlisted countries before paying, and count how many distinct importers come back. That number, divided into the plan price, is a fair measure of what each potential buyer costs you.

The US Commercial Service

The US Commercial Service, part of the International Trade Administration, has staff in US cities and in embassies and consulates abroad. For a fee, they will find partners for you in a specific country. Its two main programs for finding buyers, as listed on October 7, 2026:

• Gold Key Service. Staff identify potential partners, arrange meetings and attend them with you, for $3,250 for US companies, plus $800 for more than five appointments or more than eight hours of meetings. Identifying contacts and arranging appointments only is $2,400.^⁠[3],[5]
• International Partner Search. Staff find and vet potential partners who have shown interest in your product, for $2,500. With virtual introductions added, it is $3,300, plus $90 for each introduction beyond five.^⁠[4],[5]

The fees cost more than a database subscription, but you get pre-qualified companies that have agreed to talk, and local staff who know the market. For a first export market, that is often worth more than a list of a thousand names. Your local US Export Assistance Center can also advise on which service fits, and the first conversation is free.

Other free and low-cost sources

Paid data isn't the only way to find buyers.

• Trade shows. The largest industry fairs abroad publish exhibitor lists, and many importers attend as visitors. The Commercial Service also leads trade missions and US pavilions at major shows.
• Industry associations. Importers' and distributors' associations in the target country often publish member directories.
• Your competitors. Distributors abroad often list the brands they carry on their own websites. A competitor's distributor in one country may want a second line.
• State trade offices. Most states run export programs, and some fund part of the cost of trade shows and missions for small exporters.

Our guide to building a B2B lead list covers the general methods, which work abroad as well as at home.

Screen every name before you sell

Before you contact a foreign company, check it against the Consolidated Screening List, a free search run by the International Trade Administration that combines export restriction lists from the Departments of Commerce, State and the Treasury.^⁠[8] Selling to a listed party can break US law even if you didn't know.

Screening takes a minute per company and should happen twice: when the name goes on your list, and again before you ship. Your product's export classification matters too. Most consumer and industrial goods need no license, but some technology and dual-use items do. If you're unsure, ask your Export Assistance Center or a trade attorney before quoting.

From a list of importers to a conversation

A name on a shipment record is a company, not a person. Turning it into a conversation takes four moves.

• Verify the company. Check its website, what it sells and whether it is still trading. Shipment records can be a year old.
• Find the buyer. At a distributor, that is usually a purchasing or category manager. At a small importer, it is often the owner. Company websites and professional networks help, and a contact database such as those compared in our Apollo, Lusha and Hunter comparison can supply an email address.
• Write about them, not you. Mention what you noticed: that they import your product category regularly, from which country, at what volume. Then say in one sentence why yours is worth a sample.
• Make the next step small. Offer a price list, a sample or a short call, not a contract.

Our guide to cold email for B2B startups covers writing the first email and follow-ups. Send in the buyer's working language if you can, and in their time zone.

What a first year of export prospecting looks like

A realistic plan for a small manufacturer or distributor, with a budget of a few thousand dollars:

• First month: product codes, a USA Trade Online analysis, and a shortlist of two or three countries.
• Second month: a database trial or a short subscription, a list of 50 to 100 importers per country, screening, and finding the buyer at each.
• Third month onward: a first email to each buyer, two or three follow-ups, and samples to those who reply.
• Within the year: one trade show or a Gold Key trip to the market that responded best, to meet the buyers who replied.

Getting paid once a buyer says yes

First orders from a new overseas buyer usually need some protection. Payment in advance, part payment with the balance before shipping, or a letter of credit through a bank are all common. As trust grows, many exporters move to open account terms. For receiving payment, our comparison of Wise, Airwallex and Payoneer works through the cost of moving money internationally. The Export-Import Bank of the United States also offers export credit insurance for small businesses that want to sell on terms with less risk.

Common mistakes

• Buying data before choosing a country. A global subscription is wasted if you only have time to work one market.
• Treating every importer as a buyer. Freight forwarders and logistics firms show up as consignees. Filter them out.
• Ignoring confidentiality gaps. The largest importers often hide their names. Don't assume they don't exist.
• Sending a brochure. A generic catalog gets ignored. A note about the buyer's own import pattern gets read.

If export sales become a steady channel, the routine that follows matters as much as the list. Our guide to founder-led sales covers the weekly habits that keep a pipeline moving.