Are you looking to start an exporting business to the US, Canada or the EU? Do you have an existing local business and wish to expand your business internationally? You will need to know where to export your products into, and at the same time, how to do so successfully.
Below, we list out some products that are popular in certain countries — including two unexpected but notable products. Also, read on to find out which are the new industries to explore — you may find some interesting finds as we go along.
Here’s a sum up of all the countries and which products are exported most successfully into different areas.
Commodities Electronic products Medicinal products Jewelry Nigeria Vietnam India India Ghana China Kenya Ukraine On the other hand, you, as an exporter may be considering which country to export to for your product. Here’s some pointers.
Apart from crude petroleum and petroleum gas, it is interesting to note that Nigeria is also a huge exporter of cocoa beans and rough wood.
Being one of the most populous countries in Africa with approximately 160 million people, Nigeria is the 3rd largest exporting country in the world for cocoa beans. Cocoa beans are mainly used to make beverages, confections and bakery products. One common by-product is chocolate.
If you’re into interior designing and house building, you would be familiar with rough wood. Usually used to create a rustic and natural look, these wood planks create the perfect outdoor picnic table, swing set, or even picture frames.
Apart from gold and crude petroleum, Ghana is also a huge exporter of cocoa beans and cocoa paste.
Similar to Nigeria, Ghana is also a main exporter of cocoa beans, and also cocoa paste.
Cocoa paste is a natural product of ground nibs taken from the fruit of the Theobroma Cacao tree. Cocoa paste is made by crushing raw beans into a liquid and then solidified at room temperature into a paste. It is usually used to make pure dark chocolate, without additives or sweeteners.
Apart from commodities, Vietnam is a huge exporter of electronics such as broadcasting equipment, telephones and integrated circuits. The Southeast Asian country that is near China and Cambodia also deals with textile and leather footwear.
Broadcasting equipment refers to the machines and electronics used in broadcasting television or radio. These include antennas, speakers, cables, transmitters, receivers, audio processors and more.
Well, we do not need an introduction for telephones in this day and age. If you’re thinking smartphones, they’re not really the same. Telephones are landline phones that come either with a cord or are cordless, although they are less used now due to technology advancements.
When we think of Kenya, wildlife and huge acres of land come into mind. That’s not entirely wrong, as Kenya is an agriculture dominated economy. Agriculture takes up 40% of the overall workforce in Kenya. Therefore, it’s not surprising to see that tea, coffee and cut flowers are amongst the highest export products in Kenya.
Kenya tea can be considered one of the best quality black teas. Walk into any cafe or restaurant in Kenya, and you’ll find that the tea standards are pretty high because of its quality and aroma.
Kenya works closely with the European Union (EU) as an exporter of cut flowers through supermarkets and Dutch Auctions. These locally grown cut flowers include roses, carnations, Alstroemeria, Gypsophila and Lilies Eryngiums.
The top four exports of India include petroleum oils, packaged medicaments, diamonds and rice. Today, we’re going to go more in depth with packaged medicaments and diamonds.
Packaged medications are drugs sorted in measured doses packed for retail sale. These drugs are usually used to treat or prevent therapeutic or prophylactic diseases or conditions.
Madhya Pradesh is the only state in India that produces diamonds, although the country has a rich history of diamond mining since the 4th century. From one of the oldest diamond ‘Koh-i-Noor' to one of the rarest largest cut diamonds globally, the ‘Daria-i-Noor', India has always had a long history with diamonds.
China’s economy has been rising at a fast speed these couple of years, and there are reasons why importers and exporters are looking to expand their businesses in China. Even in the midst of a pandemic, China’s exports are still growing at a fast pace, especially in Chinese-made consumer goods such as electronics and furniture.
Being the world’s 5th most traded product with a total trade of an estimated $ 413 billion, it is no surprise why broadcasting equipment is so popular. Countries need radio and television broadcasts, therefore the need for antennas, speakers, cables, transmitters, receivers, audio processors and more.
Look at the bottom of your laptop or desktop monitors, there’s a chance you’ll find the label ‘Made in China'. China’s electronics market has always been a steady competitor around the world, accounting for its high export numbers in electronics.
Despite being one of the youngest countries in the world, Ukraine is growing in its agricultural and Info-tech industries. Having China as one of its main exporters has also boosted sales trades by around 20% for crop-based products such as corn, wheat and barley.
Based on an International Grains Council research, Ukraine’s 2021-2022 grains production is predicted to reach 74.2 million tonnes, an increase over the year before. From wheat, maize, barley and oats, Ukrainian grain exports are expected to rise from 45.3 million in 2019 to 53.1 in 2021-2022.
Seed oils include canola, corn, cottonseed soy, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed and rice bran. Oil is extracted from these plants and then manufactured into oil for consumption.
If you’re planning on importing food products into other countries, always remember that most countries are particularly stricter with food standards and safety. Let’s start with regulations in the US.
For regulations when importing food products into the UK, check out our article on how to sell food in Europe as an international merchant.
📍 Tip: Can you import electronics into a country? We show you how, in our guide to selling internationally.
Although the exact steps and paperwork vary from country to country, we have put together a simple guide that you can follow when understanding how to export goods into international markets.
Once you have decided on your destination country to export to, consider these steps:
When you have decided on how to sell and distribute your product, you will need to settle payment matters, including opening a bank account to receive money and transfer funds.
Here’s where Silverbird comes in to make your payments simpler.
We offer a global business account enabled with 30+ currencies, direct IBANs, and fast EU/US/UK transactions — so you can focus on running your business without the hassle of payments and converting FOREX rates.
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