In this guide
Trade data is one of the most requested data types on any data marketplace, and one of the most misunderstood. Buyers often expect named, shipment-level records for every country in the world. In reality, what exists depends on what each government publishes and on the rules that govern customs information. This guide explains the main types of trade data, what major jurisdictions publish, how mirror data fills gaps, and what to ask a provider before you buy.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, and how they apply depends on your situation. Check the provider's documented legal basis for each country, and take advice for your own use case.
Three kinds of trade data
Aggregated trade statistics
Statistics offices and customs authorities publish totals of imports and exports by product code, partner country and period. These usually include value and often quantity, but not company names. They are dependable for market sizing and trend analysis and exist for most countries.
Shipment-level records
These are records of individual shipments: either customs declarations or transport documents such as ocean bills of lading. Depending on the country, they may include importer and exporter names, product descriptions, HS codes, values, quantities, ports and dates. They power supplier discovery and competitor tracking, but only a minority of countries make them available.
Mirror data
Mirror data reconstructs one country's trade from the records of its trading partners. If country A does not publish shipment-level data but country B does, B's import records show goods arriving from A. Mirror data is useful, but it has important limits, covered below.
What major jurisdictions publish
United States
US Customs and Border Protection makes certain vessel manifest information available to the public under 19 CFR 103.31. That is why ocean bill of lading data for US imports is widely available, typically with shipper, consignee, notify party, product description, weight, container count, ports, vessel and carrier. Manifests do not include declared customs values, and HS codes are often missing or inferred by data providers.
Two limits matter. First, importers, consignees and shippers can request confidential treatment of their names and addresses; the request lasts for a limited period and has to be renewed, and records for those parties appear without names. Second, the rule covers vessel manifests. Air cargo is not published in the same way, and most truck and rail shipments across the land borders are missing too, so ocean-based datasets understate trade in high-value, lightweight goods. Aggregated US trade statistics covering all modes are published separately.
United Kingdom
HMRC publishes detailed aggregated trade statistics. It also publishes monthly lists of businesses that imported or exported goods, showing the commodity codes they traded. These lists do not show per-shipment values or quantities, so they tell you who trades in a product but not how much each business traded. They are useful for prospecting and market mapping, less so for estimating a company's volumes.
European Union
The EU publishes aggregated trade statistics through Eurostat's Comext database, including data at the eight-digit Combined Nomenclature (CN8) level by partner country. Some figures are suppressed for confidentiality. Individual customs declarations are confidential, so there is no official source of named, shipment-level EU customs data. Providers that offer named EU trade records are usually relying on mirror data or other sources, and you should ask exactly which.
India
India restricts the publication of import and export information. In broad terms, section 135AA of the Customs Act, 1962, added in 2018, makes it an offence to publish information furnished under the Act about the value, classification or quantity of goods imported or exported, or the details of importers and exporters, except where publication is permitted. Named, shipment-level Indian customs records should therefore not be bought or sold, and DataStoa does not accept them. The government publishes official aggregated trade statistics, which are the appropriate source for market sizing.
Latin America
Several Latin American customs authorities publish declaration-level import and export data. In some countries importer or exporter names are included; in others they are removed, or data is released with a lag or only in part. Because rules differ and can change, a good provider labels each country with its source, update lag and whether names are present.
Elsewhere
Most other countries publish aggregated statistics only, and some publish limited shipment information through port or customs portals. Treat any claim of "named shipment data for every country" with caution.
Mirror data: useful, with limits
Mirror data can show, for example, which buyers in the United States receive goods from manufacturers in a country that does not publish its own shipment data. Before relying on it, understand what it cannot do:
- It only covers trade with publishing partners. Shipments to countries that do not publish detailed data are invisible.
- Names come from the reporting side. You see parties as declared in the publishing country, which may be a trading company, forwarder or affiliate rather than the actual manufacturer.
- Values differ. Imports are often valued including freight and insurance and exports excluding them, and currency conversion adds noise.
- Timing differs. Ocean shipments can be exported weeks before they are imported.
- Origin can be wrong. Transshipment and re-exports can attribute goods to the wrong country.
- Product codes diverge beyond six digits. HS codes are harmonized internationally at six digits; national subheadings differ.
Records published lawfully by a partner country come from that country's rules, not from the rules of the country the goods left. Either way, ask the provider to document the source of every record.
What to ask a trade data provider
- Which record type does each country use: declarations, bills of lading, mirror data or statistics?
- What is the official source for each country, and what rule allows publication?
- Are party names included, and for which countries?
- At what HS level is product data recorded, and are codes declared or inferred?
- What is the typical lag between shipment date and availability?
- How are confidential filers and missing names handled?
- How are company names matched across years, spellings and countries?
- How far back does history go, and did sources change along the way?
On DataStoa, listings in import and export data, bill of lading data and customs data ask providers to state the record type, whether names are included and the legal basis for each country. For duty rates and classification, see tariff and HS code data.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy named shipment data for every country?
No. Only some countries publish named, shipment-level records. For the rest, providers rely on aggregated statistics or mirror data, which have the limits described above.
Why does US bill of lading data not show values?
Vessel manifests are transport documents, and the public manifest data does not include declared customs values. Some providers estimate values from weight and product type, so check whether a value field is declared or modeled.
Is mirror data legal?
Mirror data is built from records that partner countries publish under their own rules, so its status depends on those sources. Ask the provider to document each source, and take legal advice for your specific use.
What should I use for Indian trade?
Use official aggregated statistics for market sizing and trend analysis. Avoid any offer of named, shipment-level Indian customs records.
Data categories in this guide
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