Home / International Trade and Marketing / Module 2

2.1 Trade intelligence sources and tools

Gather data on who buys, who sells, at what price and with what tariff. Learn to use free official sources and to cross-check figures before you decide.

Module 2: Trade intelligence · Reviewed on 20/10/2026 · Español

Goal: Choose the right source for each market question and calculate the gap between mirror data to see whether it can be explained.

Trade intelligence is the work of gathering information, organizing it and analyzing it to decide better: which country to sell to, at what price and against which competitors. It is not about collecting data, but about answering specific questions. Before you search, write your own: how much does the world buy of my product? Who sells it to them? What tariff (the tax that customs charges when goods enter) would I pay? What does the country require?

There are two types of sources. Secondary sources already exist: customs statistics, reports from organizations, market studies. They are fast and cheap. Primary sources are the ones you generate: conversations with buyers, visits to fairs, surveys, sending samples. They cost more time, but they tell you what the figures do not show, such as the buyer's taste or payment method.

To search for statistics you need your product's code in the Harmonized System (HS), the worldwide list of codes that customs authorities use to classify goods. Up to six digits the code is the same in every country; from there, each country or bloc adds its own. Searching by code avoids mixing up similar products. How it is assigned is covered in depth in the Tariff classification and customs valuation course.

These are the most widely used free tools. Trade Map, from the International Trade Centre (ITC), shows how much each country imports and exports of a product and who it trades with. Market Access Map, also from the ITC, brings together tariffs and access requirements. The World Trade Organization (WTO) publishes tariff data in its Tariff Download Facility and its Tariff Analysis Online. UN Comtrade (UN) and WITS (World Bank) let you download trade data. In Peru, SUNAT, MINCETUR and PROMPERÚ publish statistics and market studies.

No figure is perfect. What a country declares as exports rarely matches what its partner declares as imports. Imports are usually recorded with freight and insurance included (CIF value) and exports without them, only up to the point the goods are on board (FOB value). In addition, the goods take weeks to arrive. These differences are called mirror data. Always compare two sources, the same year and the same type of value, and note where each figure comes from.

Key ideas

Start from a business question, not from the tool: the tool only organizes the data.
Search by Harmonized System code and not by the product's trade name.
Start with official, free sources (ITC, WTO, SUNAT, MINCETUR, PROMPERÚ) and complete them with conversations with buyers.
Mirror figures do not match because of freight, insurance and transit time: cross-check two sources before you trust them.
Note the source, date and type of value (FOB or CIF) of each figure so you can repeat and defend your analysis.

Tool	Published by	What it helps you answer
Trade Map	ITC (International Trade Centre)	How much does each country import of my product and who does it buy from?
Market Access Map	ITC	What tariff and what requirements does my product face in that market?
Tariff Download Facility and Tariff Analysis Online	WTO	What tariff does each country apply and how does it compare with the maximum it committed to charge?
UN Comtrade and WITS	UN and World Bank	What trade data by product can I download to build my own analysis?
Foreign trade statistics	SUNAT, MINCETUR and PROMPERÚ	How much of this product does Peru export, to where, and how is it changing?
Market studies and trade offices	PROMPERÚ and MINCETUR	How is my product sold in that country and what does the consumer demand?

Worked example

First intelligence sheet for organic quinoa

Situation: Andes Granos S.A.C., a fictional company from Puno, wants to export organic quinoa grain and does not know where to start. All the figures in this example are made up for practice.
Business question: “Which countries can I sell quinoa grain to and under what conditions?” Six-digit Harmonized System code: 1008.50 (quinoa).
Demand: in Trade Map you filter that code and list the importing countries for the last full year. Suppose country A imported US$ 62,000,000, country B US$ 35,500,000 and country C US$ 18,300,000.
Data cross-check: according to Peruvian statistics, Peru exported US$ 4,200,000 (FOB) to country A. Country A reports having imported US$ 4,600,000 (CIF) from Peru. Difference: 4,600,000 - 4,200,000 = US$ 400,000, or 9.5% (400,000 ÷ 4,200,000). It can be explained by freight, insurance and transit. If the gap were 40% or more, you would have to look for another cause: another code, another year or re-exports.
Price: Trade Map also shows quantities. If country A imported US$ 62,000,000 for 20,000 tonnes, the unit value is 62,000,000 ÷ 20,000 = US$ 3,100 per tonne. Calculate the same for B and C to compare.
Access: in Market Access Map and in the WTO data you check the tariff that Peruvian quinoa pays. Suppose 10% without a trade agreement and 0% with an agreement in force. Note the date of the query, because tariffs change.
Primary sources: you schedule three conversations with importers in countries A and B to confirm certifications, presentations and payment methods that the statistics do not show.
Final sheet: a table with country, total imports, unit value, tariff, source and date of each figure. That sheet is the input for the next topic, where you will compare markets with criteria.

Result: With three sources you built a comparable sheet by country and understood that the 9.5% difference between what Peru declares and what country A declares is explained by the CIF value. You noted sources and dates so you can repeat the analysis.

Real cases

PROMPERÚ presents its information services for exporters

23/10/2019

On 23/10/2019, in Lima, the Business Advisory and Training Department of PROMPERÚ presented the talk “Services for exporters”. Among the information tools it mentions are SIICEX, Infocenter, the institutional repository, the virtual classroom, Perú Trade Now and the market intelligence bulletin. It matters because it shows that a Peruvian exporter has free help to research markets before spending on trips or samples. Services change over the years: confirm on the official PROMPERÚ site which ones are still active.

Before paying for data, review what the State already makes available to you and confirm the service is still in force.

Source: PROMPERÚ – Servicios al exportador (presentación del 23/10/2019)

The WTO opens its tariff data to the public

2026

As of October 2026, the WTO site offers two open tools to look up tariffs. The Tariff Download Facility delivers tariff statistics comparable across countries up to six digits of the Harmonized System, with bound tariffs (the maximum the country committed to charge), applied tariffs (the ones it actually charges) and preferential tariffs. The Tariff Analysis Online reaches the tariff line of eight or more digits and exports results to Excel. With them an entrepreneur can compare destinations without paying for a service.

Compare the applied, bound and preferential tariff of each destination before you shortlist a market.

Source: OMC – Tariff data: Tariff Download Facility y Tariff Analysis Online

Common mistakes

Searching by the product's trade name. Use the Harmonized System code and confirm the subheading before pulling figures.
Comparing figures from different years or types of value (FOB against CIF). Fix the same year and the same value, or explain the difference.
Relying on a single source or a single figure. Cross-check at least two sources and check the update date.
Staying only with statistics. Talk to buyers, chambers or fairs to learn about certifications, payment methods and tastes that the figures do not show.
Not noting where each figure came from. Record the source, query date and type of value so you can repeat the analysis.

Practise with the calculators, the COMEX Simulator and the review questions on the main page.

Open this topic in the calculator →

← Previous topic: Innovation and new ways of trading Next topic: How to choose a destination market →