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Book importers in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Colombia: 2025 figures

Book importers in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Colombia: 2025 figures

US$ 340.8 M of books entered Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Colombia in 2025, through 3,996 importers. 200 of them buy from three or more suppliers with none above 60%: they already work with several suppliers at once.

By VS-Trade Research · Market analysis

Three markets, three sizes

According to our analysis, which cross-checks several foreign-trade sources in each country:

Country2025 valueImportersNamed suppliersMulti-brand importersTop-10 share2026 vs. same months of 2025
MexicoUS$ 240.0 M2,6813,1997151.7%+1.2% (January–September)
Dominican RepublicUS$ 44.4 M7471,2717748.5%−18.6% (January–June)
ColombiaUS$ 56.3 M5681,1135245.1%+4.3% (January–June)

Mexico is both the largest market and the most concentrated: there the ten largest importers account for 51.7% of the value.

Who supplies each market

The top four origins in each country, by 2025 value:

  • Mexico: Spain 28.4%, China 26.7%, United States 20.3%, Poland 2.9%
  • Dominican Republic: United States 44.3%, Colombia 12.2%, Spain 11.6%, China 9.1%
  • Colombia: Spain 28.6%, China 13.4%, Mexico 11.3%, United States 10.7%

New importers in 2026

So far in 2026, 23 importers bought US$ 50,000 or more of books after buying nothing in 2025 (Mexico 17, Dominican Republic 3, Colombia 3).

What a supplier should look at

  1. Which multi-brand importers buy my product, at a price close to mine, and don't buy from me? That is the list of possible channels in each country.
  2. Which other suppliers does my importer buy from, and at what price? That tells you how much of its portfolio is yours.
  3. Who bought in 2025 and has not bought again in 2026?

The annual books report

From this data we build a report per sector: the importers of your product with name and volume, which suppliers they buy from and at what price, who started buying in 2026 and who has not bought again, and where we already know who makes the buying decision. It costs US$ 1,490, one-off, delivered within 5 business days in PDF and Excel. You can order it online.

How we measure it

Harmonized System headings 4901. Values are declared invoice values at import, at each shipment's incoterm. In Mexico only definitive imports count. Importers are companies: individuals are neither counted nor published. Multi-brand: three or more suppliers in 2025, the largest at 60% or less, with no declared link to the importer. Changes compare the same months of 2025 and 2026, up to the latest month available in each country. Details in our methodology.

Do you export books to these markets?

Order your sector's annual report online: card payment, instant email confirmation and delivery within 5 business days.

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VS-Trade Research — VS-Trade Intelligence. Foreign-trade analysis in Latin America, company by company. Reach the desk at [email protected].