Import and export businesses – also known as international trade – are one of the most important trade trends of our time. In the United States of America, companies trade more than $2.5 trillion in merchandise annually, and small businesses control 95 percent of this trade.
When you are the owner of an import and export company, you can work as a distributor by focusing on exporting and importing goods and services that cannot be obtained in your country, and products give an example of this (French perfumes) or trading in goods that are cheaper when imported from other countries ( such as Chinese electronics).
It is worth noting that it is not only about import and export companies, you can also open an EMC export management company so that you can help local companies in promoting their products in a foreign country by arranging the shipment and storage of goods without doing the actual sale.
EMCs can specialize in a specific industry or work with different types of factories that export and import.
It is also possible for export and import management companies to act as an intermediary for another company and receive a commission from the total sales achieved through them.
This is an excellent option with products that are guaranteed to sell due to the high demand or strength of their brand.
import and export trade
While any country can offer opportunities for trade and import and export businesses, countries such as China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Korea have been the most heavily traded over the past two decades.
In the past few years, some of the ex-Soviet Union and South America have become major players in the import and export market, but these countries still have a lot to learn to compete with the major players in the market.
Open an import and export company
To open an import and export company in your country, you must have an initial investment balance whose value varies according to the country in which it is located. In the United States of America, for example, this number is $5000 or more.
The investment balance depends on the type of goods and merchandise that you will deal with in the market, in addition to whether you will work from home or will open an office and employ your employees.
However, compared to other companies, import and export companies are among the least expensive to start up.
It is also worth noting that many products can be imported and exported without obtaining complex licenses, but some products such as medical preparations and medicines require special government permits, in which case the cost may increase.
The first step
The first step in establishing any business should be to collect sufficient information about the nature of the activity, and in the case of import and export companies, you must visit the local Chamber of Commerce or contact consulates and embassies to find out about their import and export programs.
As many embassies have a special section to promote the most famous goods produced by the country to other countries, these embassies will be more than happy to deal with someone who intends to import from them.
