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What to analyze before entering a new country

Demand, competition, regulatory access, channels, risks and integrity. The market intelligence checklist that should come before any investment in a new market.

Published on · Moova Intelligence team

Entering a new country takes time, money and the team’s attention. Before investing in trips, trade fairs, registrations or inventory, it pays to answer a set of questions with verifiable information. Below is the checklist we use as a starting point.

1. Demand

  • Does the country import the product? In what volume and value, and how has that changed in recent years?
  • Which countries does it buy from today? Is Brazil among the suppliers?

Trade Map, from the International Trade Centre (ITC), shows trade flows by product and country. Comex Stat, from Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), shows the same from the Brazilian side: where Brazil already exports that product.

2. Market access

  • What tariff applies to the product? Is there a preference for Brazilian products under a trade agreement?
  • Which rule of origin is required to use that preference?
  • Which licenses, registrations, technical standards, certifications, and labeling and language rules apply?

The ITC Market Access Map brings together tariffs, preferences, rules of origin and non-tariff measures. The World Trade Organization’s Tariff & Trade Data lets you compare each country’s applied tariff with its bound tariff. The final word always belongs to the regulator in the destination market.

3. Competition and price

  • Who are the main suppliers and how are they positioned on price and quality?
  • What is the shelf or market price, and what is left after freight, taxes and channel margins?

4. Channels

  • How does the product reach the end customer: importer, distributor, retail, public procurement, direct sales?
  • What kind of local partner makes sense, and what will it require?

5. Risks

  • Payment and currency risk, regulatory stability and sanctions applicable to the country or to individuals and companies.
  • Trademark protection in the destination country.
  • Integrity: the Good Integrity Practices Guide for Brazilian Exporters, from Brazil’s Office of the Comptroller General (CGU) with ApexBrasil (2026), notes that exposure to foreign laws and the use of intermediaries without due diligence are among the most relevant risks for exporters.

6. Available support

ApexBrasil, Brazil’s trade and investment promotion agency, offers market studies, data dashboards and trade promotion programs that can complement the company’s own analysis.

How to record the analysis

A market analysis is only useful if it can be repeated. For every figure, record the source, the query date, the product code (HS/NCM), the unit, the period and the filters used. Cross-check more than one source, since no single database answers everything, and write down the limitations of the study. That way the decision can be revisited when the data changes.

In short

Demand, access, competition, channels, risks and available support: with these six areas answered, a company knows whether to enter, how to enter and what still needs to be confirmed.

Sources

  1. ITC Trade Map — world trade flows
  2. ITC Market Access Map — tariffs, rules of origin and requirements
  3. WTO — Tariff & Trade Data
  4. Comex Stat (MDIC) — Brazilian foreign trade statistics
  5. ApexBrasil — solutions for exporters
  6. CGU and ApexBrasil — Good Integrity Practices Guide for Brazilian Exporters (2026, in Portuguese)
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