Biggest is not best. The right first market is the one where importers your size are already buying from origins you can realistically displace.
Score four things per candidate market
Run the same four checks on each shortlisted market so the comparison is honest rather than anecdotal.
- Importer fragmentation — many mid-sized buyers beat a handful of giants
- Origin concentration — one dominant origin means a contract you must break
- Clearance cadence — frequent buyers reorder sooner, so feedback is faster
- Official import value — the ceiling, and a check on how complete coverage is
Prefer markets you can service
Freight cost, certification and payment terms decide more deals than product quality. Score a market down if the lane needs a certification you do not hold, however attractive the volumes look.
Commit to two, not six
Two markets worked properly out-perform six sampled shallowly. Build a contact list per market, quote the buyer's own shipment history in the first message, and give each market a full buying cycle before you judge it.
Frequently asked
- Should I start with the largest importing country?
- Usually not. Large markets are often concentrated and heavily contracted. A fragmented mid-sized market typically gives a faster first order.
- Where do official import values come from?
- Country pages cross-check held shipment records against UN Comtrade and, for the United States, Census Bureau statistics for the same HS code and period.