Most of what is written about trade data is about what it can do. This is the other half — because knowing the limits is what stops you making a bad decision with it.
A declaration is a statement made at a point in time. Goods are re-exported, returned, re-invoiced, or never shipped. A record is evidence that a declaration was made; it is not proof that a transaction completed on those terms.
The same company appears under several spellings, abbreviations and legal suffixes. Group structures mean goods may be consigned to a logistics entity rather than the operating company. Any list needs cleaning, and any claim of a flawless company-name match should be treated with suspicion.
Which countries publish what is decided by those countries, and it changes without notice. A market can stop publishing. Also note that the record type changes what is visible: on bill-of-lading data you will often find no value at all.
Records show purchases that have happened. They do not show intent. A company that bought heavily last year may be exiting the category. This is why recency matters more than volume: a small, recent, repeated buyer is often a better target than a large historical one.
That a company imports your product says nothing about whether they will switch supplier. Price, specification, certification, lead time and existing relationships all sit outside the data. Use records to build the list, then qualify the list by talking to people.
The end of every route is a conversation. Data gets you to the right door faster — it does not open it for you, and it cannot tell you whether the person behind it is worth your time.
Tell us the product and the market. We will reply with what the records actually contain for it — which markets have shipment detail, which have statistics only, and what a working list would look like. No charge, and no obligation.