Statistics: Trade

Part of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the information on the site is free of charge although you do have to register to access some areas.
You can use the Interactive Data Tables and build up your own report or view the static tables, for example: Top 20 Products Monthly by SIC - Imports and Exports, Top 25 Trading Partners - Monthly - Imports and Exports, Top 30 Products Quarterly - Imports and Exports - Value and Net Mass. If you choose to use the interactive data tables, it is recommended that you download and view the Powerpoint demonstration first.
The Importers' Details section gives details of UK based importers of products from outside of the EU. You can search on company name, product (text or commodity code numeric), county, postcode and year of transaction. There are also EU country profiles and historical exchange rate data for the UK by month going back to September 1999.
It includes UK World Trade data.

Known as the ‘Pink Book’. It is a comprehensive guide to the United Kingdom’s external trade performance and contains a wide range of statistics covering a ten-year period.

The COMTRADE database of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) covers over 110 reporting countries with time series starting from 1962 (SITC1), 1977 (SITC2) or 1988 (SITC3 correlated to HS codes). You can search for imports or exports of a commodity (keyword, HS or SITC code) between individual countries or a country and the rest of the world. Figures are given as the trade value in US dollars and net weight (kg) and can be viewed as tables and graphs.
The free service allows you to download 50,000 records per data query although there is no limit on the number of data queries. Full access to the database and download facilities is by annual subscription.

UNCTAD is the United Nations body responsible for dealing with development issues, particularly international trade – the main driver of development. They publish research on the linkages between trade, investment, technology and enterprise development. Also Being the United Nations' focal point for the integrated treatment of trade and development and the interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development, UNCTAD compiles, validates and processes a wide range of data collected from national and international sources. Most of the time series cover long periods, with some dating back to 1948, for almost all economies of the world. Of use is their annual UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics a convenient summary of the most useful statistics and also Development and Globalization, summarizing statistics in this area, published every 4 years. UNCTAD also produce the Least Developed Nations Report. All are available freely on their website.