Finding your first buyers abroad

Before you look for buyers, pick two or three countries to focus on. Official import figures show which countries buy your product, how much, how fast that is growing, and how much of it already comes from India. Compare countries by the 6-digit product type, the level every country's figures share.

• A large, growing import market has room for a new supplier.
• A good Indian share shows Indian goods are accepted there. A small one may be a gap, or a sign of a barrier.
• Check the duty buyers there pay on your product, and whether a trade agreement with India lowers it.
• Check what the market requires before your goods can be sold there, such as certificates, tests or labels.

Some countries publish who imported what in their customs records. Where they do, you can see named companies that already buy your product, including from India. Our Buyers abroad tool shows them for the countries whose records we hold. A company that already imports your product knows it, has a supply chain for it, and may want a second supplier.

1. 1Search the records by your product's 6-digit code in the market you picked.
2. 2Shortlist importers whose volumes fit what you can supply.
3. 3Study each one: its website, what else it buys and where it buys from.
4. 4Send a short, specific offer: the product and its code, your capacity, your certificates, and a price on a stated Incoterm.
5. 5Follow up after a week or two, and send samples if they ask for them.

• Trade fairs in your product's field are where buyers go to find suppliers. DGFT's Trade Connect platform, at trade.gov.in, lists trade events in India and abroad, with country and product guides. It also has a section for finding buyers, and lets you put questions to trade experts.
• Your export promotion council exists to promote your product group's exports. Ask it which fairs and buyer-seller meets it is planning in your markets.
• Under the Foreign Trade Policy, DGFT's regional offices, through each district's export promotion committee, may also arrange buyer-seller meets and fairs in your district.

1. 1Confirm the company exists: its registration in its own country, its address, its website and who runs it.
2. 2Screen the company, and its owners where you can, against Sanctions list lists.
3. 3Agree the terms in writing before you ship: product, quality, quantity, price, Incoterm, payment terms and delivery date, in a contract or a signed proforma invoice.
4. 4On a first order, ask for payment in advance or a letter of credit from a sound bank.
5. 5Consider export credit insurance. ECGC's covers protect you against losses when a buyer becomes insolvent or does not pay, and against some political risks.
6. 6Start with a small order, and give more credit only as the buyer pays on time.