How do I find importers in the United States?

The counts below come from import records filed in the United States, not from estimates rebuilt from exporting countries' records. The data provider does not state the period these records cover. Use the counts to compare the size of the buyer pool across products, not as annual totals. For dated national totals, use the Census trade database in the last check section.

In turmeric, black pepper and cashew, one origin holds over 90% of the value or shipments. If you export one of these from another origin, expect buyers to compare you with that origin. Wooden furniture shows 8,948 importing firms; see the furniture importers guide. The FDA sections below apply to food only. For furniture, kitchenware and handbags, start from manifest data.

Under section 805(g) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA publishes the importers subject to the Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) rule. FDA updates the list every quarter as a downloadable XLSX file. It has two fields: firm legal name and state. The file for entries from 1 July to 30 September 2026 was counted on 11 November 2026 and names 28,821 firms.

1. 1

   Download the file

   Open FDA's FSVP List of Participants page and download the XLSX.

2. 2

   Cut it to a shortlist

   Filter by the states you can serve. Then search the names for words tied to your product or diaspora market, for example spice, rice, Indian, Asian or African.

3. 3

   Find out what each firm buys

   The list does not show products. Match the names against bill of lading data first. Open websites for the firms that show shipments of your product. Also open websites for firms whose names suggest your product but show no shipments, because some importers keep their manifests confidential (see the bill of lading section). The VQIP list (below) gives e-mail addresses for the firms on it.

Read the list as names only. It has no contacts, no volumes and no products, and being on it is not FDA approval. Your buyer is the FSVP importer: the firm in the United States that owns the food, has bought it, or has agreed in writing to buy it. It must verify you as a supplier. The importer of record, which files the customs entry with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), may be a different firm. FDA says the FSVP importer and the importer of record may not be the same entity. So the name on a bill of lading may not match the name on the FSVP list. One exception: a firm named only as the agent of a foreign owner is not buying. Ask each new prospect: "Will you be the FSVP importer for our goods?"

FDA exempts seafood and juice from FSVP when the foreign supplier complies with the seafood or juice HACCP regulations (21 CFR part 123 or 120). A buyer that imports only seafood may therefore not appear on this list. Seafood exporters should start from manifest data and the frozen shrimp importer page instead.

FDA's FSVP at-a-glance page lists what the FSVP importer must do. Each duty becomes a request to you.

• Hazard analysis for each food. This covers biological, chemical and physical hazards. Chemical hazards include pesticide residues, natural toxins, unapproved additives and allergens. Expect requests for specifications and lab test reports.
• Evaluation of you as a supplier. The importer looks at your food safety practices and your record under United States rules, including whether you are subject to an FDA warning letter or import alert. It also looks at your test results, audit results and how you corrected past problems.
• Verification activities. These can include annual onsite audits by a qualified auditor, sampling and testing, and review of your food safety records.
• Re-evaluation every three years, or sooner if new information appears about the food or your performance.

In some cases the importer may rely on work done by others, such as your audits and tests, if it reviews and assesses the documents. Prepare a supplier file before you write to anyone. Include your FDA food facility registration, recent lab reports, audit certificates and corrective action records. At entry, the importer must give its own unique facility identifier. FDA accepts a DUNS number for this, and it has been required since 24 July 2022. A buyer can request a DUNS number at dnb.com/duns.html. A buyer who has never filed as an FSVP importer will need to set this up before your first shipment.

FDA is not authorized to approve, certify or license individual food importers, products, labels or shipments. Food can enter without prior FDA approval if two conditions are met. First, the facilities that produce, store or handle it must be registered with FDA. Second, FDA must receive prior notice of the shipment. FDA can inspect food at the port and detain shipments that do not comply.

FDA Import Alerts name products and firms that appear to violate FDA rules. A product on an alert can be detained without physical examination (DWPE). It is then refused unless the importer shows that the violation is not present. You can browse alerts by country or area and by industry. Firms on a yellow or red list are subject to DWPE under that alert. Firms on a green list are exempt.

The FDA Data Dashboard (datadashboard.fda.gov) adds three free checks. Import Refusals shows refusals by fiscal year, product category and country, which gives you your product's history. Search Firm Information shows a firm's compliance record. Use it on a buyer and note any compliance actions before you agree payment terms. Approved VQIP Importers lists firms in the Voluntary Qualified Importer Program, a fee-based program for faster review and entry. The VQIP list gives firm name, address, e-mail and website. It is not a list of United States importers only: the FY2027 list includes several firms with addresses in India, most with seafood in their names. Firms may also choose not to be listed.

Inward vessel manifests in the United States are open. Under 19 CFR 103.31, members of the public may request manifest information from CBP, and CBP sells daily manifest data at the government's production cost. The rule gives no free self-service search. The searchable route is a bill of lading tool, free or paid, that repackages this data. Customs and bill of lading data explained shows how these tools work, and Volza, ImportGenius and Panjiva alternatives compares named tools. To see one firm's shipments, search its exact legal name from the FSVP file.

The same rule creates a gap. An importer or consignee can ask CBP to keep its name and address confidential on inward manifests. It can also hide the names of its shippers. It does not have to prove harm. Each certification lasts two years from receipt and can be renewed. CBP leaves this data out of the daily manifest data it sells to the public. The rule does not say how many firms do this. Free and paid manifest tools therefore miss some importers. If a food buyer you know of does not appear, look for it on the FSVP list.

1. 1

   State business register

   The National Association of Secretaries of State page links each state's registration search. Confirm the legal name and that the registration is current. Most state registers also show a registered address.

2. 2

   National totals

   The Census Bureau's international trade pages link a free trade database with official import totals by product and partner country. Its redesigned version needs no account or login. Use it to see whether your country's share is growing. The same pages publish a Census report that profiles importing and exporting companies and their import value. The latest is a preliminary edition for 2025.

For a full checklist, see how to verify a foreign buyer and the free buyer trust check.

Reevi searches trade records and the public web for companies that already buy your product, and it gives a reason for each one. The run below was done signed out. Company names are removed, and the buyer type is shown instead. The search included FDA plant registration and BAP certification, because seafood buyers in the United States ask about both.

For another product, write the query the same way: product and form, origin, certifications, buyer type and market. An example is "ground turmeric from India, FDA registered plant, spice importers in the United States". Decide on any flagged rows, then verify the rest with the checks in the section above.