US and Benin
What moves each way, the scams to watch for, and what to check before you trade.
Trade safely with Benin
The scams, documents and rules that matter on this corridor. Written and reviewed by our team, and dated.
Corridor-specific scam patterns and rules are still being reviewed by our team and will appear here once published.
- Confirm the company exists in an official register and that its name matches the one on the invoice.
- Before paying into a new or changed bank account, phone the company on a number you already hold, not one from the invoice or email.
- Test the container number, ship number, ports and dates on the bill of lading with the Document checker.
- Be wary of paying in advance for goods you have not seen, or of fees demanded to release a shipment.
- Ask the carrier directly to confirm the shipment exists and where it is.
In 2025, the US sold Benin about $330.0 million of goods. The biggest products were motor cars and other motor vehicles, motor vehicles, parts and accessories and meat and edible offal of poultry, which together make up 92% of the total. More than half of this trade is one product (motor cars and other motor vehicles), so it leans heavily on that one line. The total has grown by about 4.7% a year since 2022. Among the leading products, chemical wood pulp, soda or sulphate is growing fastest, at about 37% a year.
In 2025, the US bought about $45.6 million of goods from Benin. The biggest products were oil-cake and other solid residues, nuts, edible, coconuts and bed linen, table linen, toilet linen, which together make up 89% of the total. More than half of this trade is one product (oil-cake and other solid residues), so it leans heavily on that one line. The total has grown by about 135% a year since 2022. Among the leading products, flours and meals of oil seeds or oleaginous… is growing fastest, at about 160% a year.
Trade by year
Total trade each year, as reported in the tables below. A missing bar means no report for that year, not zero trade.
View as a table
| Year | US sells to Benin | US buys from Benin |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $287.8m | $3.5m |
| 2023 | $240.7m | $13.8m |
| 2024 | $216.4m | $53.5m |
| 2025 | $330m | $45.6m |
What US sells to Benin
Ranked by value in 2025, by 4-digit product code. Growth is the yearly rate since 2022.
| Product | Value | Share | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motor cars and other motor vehicles (principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of he… Product code 8703 · Vehicles | $198.4m Benin reports none | 60.1% | +9.3% a year |
| Motor vehicles (parts and accessories, of heading no. 8701 to 8705) Product code 8708 · Vehicles | $77.3m Benin reports none | 23.4% | +20.9% a year |
| Meat and edible offal of poultry (of the poultry of heading no. 0105, (i.e. fowls of the species Gallus domest… Product code 0207 · Meat | $28.0m Benin reports none | 8.5% | -0.7% a year |
Biggest product groups: Vehicles (84%), Meat (8%), Machinery (2%), Other (1%), Plastics (1%) .
What US buys from Benin
Ranked by value in 2025, by 4-digit product code. Growth is the yearly rate since 2022.
| Product | Value | Share | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil-cake and other solid residues (whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting from the extract… Product code 2304 · Animal feed and food waste | $32.7m Benin reports none | 71.8% | n/a |
| Nuts, edible (coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashew nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled) Product code 0801 · Fruit and nuts | $5.3m Benin reports none | 11.6% | +82.9% a year |
| Bed linen, table linen, toilet linen and kitchen linen Product code 6302 · Other textile articles | $2.6m Benin reports none | 5.7% | n/a |
Biggest product groups: Animal feed and food waste (72%), Fruit and nuts (12%), Knitted clothing (7%), Other textile articles (6%), Fruit and vegetable preparations (1%) .
Where the opportunities are
Products that are moving on this corridor. Only products of a meaningful size are listed. Treat these as leads to check, not promises: a fast rise can reverse.
Room to grow
Products that a market buys a lot of, where this corridor supplies only a small part. Shares are for the latest year both sides reported. A small share can also mean a hard market, so check the rules and the buyer first.
A free account shows the complete product lists, every fast-growing and new product, and the markets where this corridor supplies little. Accounts are checked by hand, so use your business email.
Create a free account Sign inHow to read these figures
Value is what was traded in the year, in US dollars. A big number means a big market, not necessarily an easy one to enter.
Share is that product's part of the total in the table above. A product with a large share is what this corridor already trades most of.
Growth is the average yearly change since the first year shown. A green figure means trade in that product is rising.
Product code is the international customs code (HS) for the product group. Your customs agent and the guide below will ask for it, and it decides the duty you pay.
These are totals reported by customs authorities, not prices or orders. Use them to see where demand exists, then check the rules and the company you plan to deal with.
Next steps
Trade figures are what each country reported to the UN (Comtrade), in US dollars. Imports are usually reported including freight and insurance, exports without, so the two sides of a corridor will not match exactly. Company counts are companies listed on ExporterIQ.