Sign inTwo ways to find something worth building: what people are reporting as problems, and what this country is paying foreigners for. Both are ranked; neither is combined into the other.
Country · 2019–2024 · 60,550 trade records
One dot is one manufactured product this country imports. Hover to see which; click for the pathway and what it might cost to start. Both axes are annual trade, on a log scale — each gridline is ten times the last — because the figures span three and a half orders of magnitude and a linear axis would stack all but the largest onto the origin. Computed Nov 10, 2026 · 00:00 UTC.
33 of 50 sit below the parity line — the country buys more of that product than it sells. That gap is the opportunity; the ones above it are already served by domestic makers. These are the top 50 manufactured products out of 868 scored.
| Product | HS code | Annual imports | Annual exports | Buys per unit sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminium oxide; other than artificial corundum | 281820 | $1B | $1B | 0.9x |
| Chemical products, mixtures and preparations; n.e.c. heading 3824 | 382499 | $1.1B | $342.8M | 3.3x |
| Heterocyclic compounds; n.e.c. in headings no. 2933 | 293399 | $786.2M | $2.5B | 0.3x |
| Organic compounds; n.e.c. in chapter 29 | 294200 | $371.3M | $1.2B | 0.2x |
| Herbicides, anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators; other than containing goods of Subheading Note 1 to this Chapter; put up in forms or packings for retail sale or as preparations or articles | 380893 | $422.4M | $1.5B | 0.2x |
| Insecticides; other than containing goods specified in Subheading Notes 1 & 2 to this Chapter; put up in forms or packings for retail sale or as preparations or articles | 380891 | $581.6M | $1.3B | 0.4x |
| Antibiotics; penicillins and their derivatives with a penicillanic acid structure; salts thereof | 294110 | $761.7M | $319.6M | 2.3x |
| Nucleic acids and their salts, other heterocyclic compounds, n.e.c. in heading number 2934 | 293499 | $687.9M | $596M | 1.1x |
| Heterocyclic compounds; containing a pyrimidine ring (whether or not hydrogenated) or piperazine ring in the structure, (other than malonylurea and its derivatives, loprazolam, mecloqualone, methaqualone, zipeprol, and salts thereof) n.e.c. in 2933.5 | 293359 | $374.7M | $519.5M | 0.7x |
| Industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids; acid oils from refining; (other than stearic acid, oleic acid or tall oil fatty acids) | 382319 | $557.6M | $290.3M | 1.9x |
| Cosmetic and toilet preparations; n.e.c. in heading no. 3304, for the care of the skin (excluding medicaments, including sunscreen or sun tan preparations) | 330499 | $289M | $464M | 0.6x |
| Antibiotics; n.e.c. in heading no. 2941 | 294190 | $946.1M | $631.2M | 1.4x |
| Fungicides; other than containing goods specified in Subheading Note 1 to this Chapter; put up in forms or packings for retail sale or as preparations or articles | 380892 | $366.4M | $931.4M | 0.3x |
| Heterocyclic compounds; containing an unfused pyridine ring (whether or not hydrogenated) in the structure, n.e.c. in 2933.3 | 293339 | $301.9M | $998.5M | 0.3x |
| Fertilizers, mineral or chemical; nitrogenous, urea, whether or not in aqueous solution | 310210 | $2.1B | $20.9M | 103.4x |
| Colouring matter; pigments and preparations based on titanium dioxide, containing 80% or more by weight of titanium dioxide calculated on the dry matter | 320611 | $1.1B | $27.2M | 41.8x |
| Inorganic or organic compounds of precious metals, n.e.c.; amalgams | 284390 | $1B | $14.4M | 69.2x |
| Cyclic hydrocarbons; styrene | 290250 | $1.3B | $31.7M | 41.3x |
| Fertilizers, mineral or chemical; diammonium hydrogenorthophosphate (diammonium phosphate) | 310530 | $2.7B | $45.1M | 60.9x |
| Lubricating oil additives; containing petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals | 381121 | $298M | $142.9M | 2.0x |
| Reagents; diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing, prepared diagnostic or laboratory reagents whether or not on a backing, or put up in the form of kits, other than those of heading 30.06; certified reference materials, n.e.c. in heading 3822 | 382290 | $265.4M | $92.9M | 2.8x |
| Reagents; diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing and prepared diagnostic or laboratory reagents whether or not on a backing, other than those of heading no. 3002 or 3006; certified reference material | 382200 | $844.6M | $157.3M | 5.3x |
| Reagents; diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing, prepared diagnostic or laboratory reagents whether or not on a backing, whether or not put up in the form of kits; n.e.c.in item 3822.1 | 382219 | $596.1M | $52.2M | 11.4x |
| Cyclic hydrocarbons; p-xylene | 290243 | $948.3M | $230.2M | 4.1x |
| Cyclic amides (including cyclic carbamates) and their derivatives; other than the derivatives and salts of ureines, 2-acetamidobenzoic acid (N-acetylanthancillic acid),ethinamate S, and alachlor (ISO) and their derivatives and salts | 292429 | $207.9M | $380.1M | 0.5x |
| Heterocyclic compounds; with nitrogen hetero-atom(s) only, containing an unfused pyrazole ring (whether or not hydrogenated) in the structure, other than henazone (antipyrin) and its derivatives | 293319 | $211.5M | $289.2M | 0.7x |
| Odoriferous substances and mixtures; used as raw materials in industries other than the food or drink industries | 330290 | $160.8M | $340.6M | 0.4x |
| Carbon; carbon blacks and other forms of carbon n.e.c. | 280300 | $208.3M | $475.4M | 0.4x |
| Oils, essential; concentrates in fats, fixed oils, waxes and the like, terpenic by-products, aqueous distillates and solutions, extracted oleoresins, n.e.c. in heading no. 3301 | 330190 | $130.5M | $535.8M | 0.2x |
| Phosphoric acid and polyphosphoric acids | 280920 | $1.9B | $5.4M | 363.9x |
| Ink; writing, drawing and other inks, n.e.c. in heading no. 3215, whether or not concentrated or solid | 321590 | $72.2M | $1B | 0.0x |
| Fertilizers, mineral or chemical; potassic, potassium chloride | 310420 | $1.1B | $8.1M | 137.0x |
| Acids; aromatic polycarboxylic acids; terephthalic acid and its salts | 291736 | $1.5B | $6.3M | 245.0x |
| Acids; unsaturated acyclic monocarboxylic acids; esters of acrylic acid | 291612 | $401.8M | $16.8M | 23.7x |
| Alcohols; acyclic, diols; ethylene glycol (ethanediol) | 290531 | $589.6M | $38.2M | 15.4x |
| Acids; saturated acyclic monocarboxylic acids; acetic acid | 291521 | $514.3M | $14.4M | 35.6x |
| Acyclic hydrocarbons; saturated | 290110 | $587.6M | $14.4M | 40.5x |
| Amine-function compounds; aromatic monoamines and their derivatives, aniline and its salts | 292141 | $270.9M | $14.4M | 18.7x |
| Alcohols; saturated monohydric, methanol (methyl alcohol) | 290511 | $877.8M | $22M | 39.8x |
| Cyclic hydrocarbons; toluene | 290230 | $510.5M | $31.2M | 16.3x |
| Nitrile-function compounds; acrylonitrile | 292610 | $254.7M | $10.9M | 23.3x |
| Fertilizers, mineral or chemical; containing the three fertilizing elements nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium | 310520 | $657.7M | $11.9M | 55.1x |
| Nitrogen-function compounds; n.e.c. in chapter 29, isocyanates | 292910 | $326.7M | $11.5M | 28.3x |
| Adhesives; prepared, based on polymers of heading 3901 to 3913 or on rubber | 350691 | $156M | $77M | 2.0x |
| Heterocyclic compounds; with oxygen hetero-atom(s) only, no lactones or unfused furan rings in the structure, other than isosafrole, 1-(1,3-benzodiaxol-5-yl) propan-2-one, piperonal, safrole, tetrahydrocannabinols (all isomers), carbofuran (ISO) | 293299 | $238.8M | $202.5M | 1.1x |
| Organic surface-active agents; non-ionic (other than soap), whether or not put up for retail sale | 340213 | $102.5M | $141.5M | 0.7x |
| Anti-oxidising preparations and other compound stabilisers; for rubber or plastics, other than mixtures of oligomers of 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline (TMQ) | 381239 | $217.7M | $147.7M | 1.4x |
| Antibiotics; erythromycin and its derivatives; salts thereof | 294150 | $160.3M | $100.4M | 1.5x |
| Perfumes and toilet waters | 330300 | $165.8M | $231.6M | 0.7x |
| Fluorinated, brominated or iodinated derivatives of acyclic hydrocarbons; other than ethylene dibromide (ISO) (1,2-dibromoethane) | 290339 | $113.6M | $88.3M | 1.2x |
Pick a dot to see what that product would take to make here.
Categories where people are reporting problems and the country imports heavily. A coincidence worth looking at — not a combined score. The two numbers count different things and are shown separately for that reason.
No category currently clears the bar on both sides. That is a real finding: it means the problems people are reporting and the goods the country buys abroad are not pointing at the same place yet.
Joined on the research category, which is the coarsest link available — eight categories cover every commodity. Treat it as a hint about where to look, not as a match between a reported problem and a product.
A ranking is only as honest as its exclusions.