Iceland's exports to the world in 2022 are valued at USD 7.41 billion. The total value of Iceland's exports is 23.9% higher than in 2021, when they were valued at $6 billion.

Most Valuable International Customers For Icelandic Exports

The latest country-specific data shows that Icelandic exports are mainly purchased by importers from the Netherlands (37.4% of Iceland's global total), the UK (9%), the US (7.7%), Germany (6.5%), France (6.4%), Norway (5.4%), Spain (4.3%), Denmark (2.5%), Japan (2.2%), Mainland China (2.1%), Poland (1.9%) and Canada (1.8%).

Iceland's Top 10 Exports

1. Aluminum: $3.1 billion (41.5% of total exports)

2. Fish: $2.3 billion (31.4%)

3. Iron and steel: US$367 million (5%)

4. Food industry waste, animal feed: $288.7 million (3.9%)

5. Animal and vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $230.6 million (3.1%)

6. Optical, technical, medical equipment: $185.9 million (2.5%)

7. Fossil fuels, including oil: $168.0 million (2.3%)

8. Meat/seafood products: $112.7 million (1.5%)

9. Inorganic chemicals: $111.8 million (1.5%)

10. Machinery including computers: $89.8 million (1.2%)

Iceland's top 10 exports are concentrated and account for 93.9% of its total global shipments.

Mineral fuels, including petroleum, were the fastest growing of the top 10 export categories, up 144.7% since 2021. The second highest improvement in export sales was in animal and vegetable fats, oils and waxes, up 110.5%. Icelandic shipments of food industry waste and animal feed ranked third in terms of increase, up 108.5% year-on-year.

The only decline in Iceland's top ten export categories was machinery, including computers, which fell by -23.3%.

At the more granular four-digit HS code level, Iceland's most valuable exports in 2022 are unwrought aluminum (35.9%), fish and other fillets (15.6%), whole fresh fish (6.3%), whole frozen fish (4.9%), ferro-ferro-alloys (4.6%), all kinds of dried, salted, or smoked fish (4.2%), inedible meat powders (3.8%), aluminum wire (3.5%), fish or marine mammal fats and oils (3 %), followed by processed petroleum (2.3 %).

Customs data contains a vast amount of information, and extracting relevant customer contact information can be time-consuming, with results not always meeting expectations. Is it truly the case, or is it because customs data is being used incorrectly, resulting in wasted effort and time?

Utilizing customs data for customer development can be achieved by precisely characterizing all buyers and their procurement systems in the target market. This allows for the quick identification of the most compatible customers, discerning their credit systems and procurement information, determining high-quality customers and profit margins, enhancing development efficiency, and improving overall effectiveness.

In customs data, one can observe the suppliers of buyers. Some of these suppliers are trade companies and also potential customers. In-depth analysis can be conducted on these trade companies, and key customers can be selected for focused development. Information such as buyer contacts, trade partners, procurement cycles, and purchase volumes can be obtained. While customs data may lack contact information due to being derived from bill of lading information, Tendata iTrader provides not only customs data but also business and internet data. This allows for the direct extraction of contact information and positions based on buyer names, making customer development through customs data seamless. (>>> Click To Get Free Access To Customs Data From 80+ Countries)

For new customer development using customs data, three strategies are available for consideration. (>>> Click To Get Free Access To Customs Data From 80+ Countries)

1. Establishing a Customer Database by Country: 

Building a customer database is akin to maintaining a work record. Start by using trade tracking features to compile a list of all customers in a country. Analyze each buyer's purchase volume, procurement cycle, product specifications, and supplier system. Finally, filter out 30% of the potential high-quality customers from this country and record them in your customer database, allowing flexible settings by country, time, customer name, follow-up steps, contact phone, email, contact person, etc. (>>> Click For Free Customer Development)

2. Establishing a Customer Database by Peer Companies: 

Have a clear understanding of the English names of peer companies (including full names, abbreviations, etc.). Use the global supplier network feature to gather all customers of these peers in the system. Analyze these customers based on purchase volume, procurement cycle, and product models. Finally, filter out key customers from your targeted peers and record them in your customer database. (>>> Click For Free Trial Application)

3. Identifying Newly Appeared Customers in Each Country: 

Utilize the trade search function to select a country, set date ranges, limit product names or customs codes, and check "latest." The search results will display high-quality customers that have recently appeared in that country during the specified time period. Since these customers are newly emerging, they may have unstable supplier relationships, requiring focused follow-up. Record these new potential buyers in your customer database. (>>> Click For Free Trial Application)

These three approaches for customer development using customs data can be implemented based on the actual needs of the company. Considering market conditions, industry characteristics, strategic requirements, etc., find a method that suits your preferences. The ultimate goal is to establish and organize a categorized archive of high-quality customers. Once suitable customers are identified, the next step is to make precise contact through various channels such as phone calls, email communication, online chat, etc.