xippios-comtrade

Typed Python client, MCP server and FastAPI routes for UN Comtrade, part of the xippios SDK family. Names and semantics follow the upstream documentation; every response carries release metadata (source, endpoint, retrieved_at, published_at, vintage).

Install

uv add xippios-comtrade            # client only
uv add "xippios-comtrade[mcp]"     # + MCP server
uv add "xippios-comtrade[http]"    # + FastAPI router

Set COMTRADE_API_KEY in the environment. Nothing is read from files.

Related MCP server: mcp-comtrade

30-second example

from xippios.comtrade import get_counts, get_data

# Switzerland (reporter 757) exports to the World (partner 0) in 2023, all products.
query = {
    "reporter_code": "757",
    "partner_code": "0",
    "period": "2023",
    "cmd_code": "TOTAL",
    "flow_code": "X",
}
get_counts("C", "A", "HS", **query).data  # 32: every customs procedure and mode of transport
result = get_data("C", "A", "HS", **query)
total = next(r for r in result.data if (r.customs_code, r.mot_code) == ("C00", 0))
total.primary_value  # Decimal('419922543423.509'); JSON: a number
result.meta.endpoint, result.meta.request  # 'data/v1/get', the arguments above

Parameters are upstream's (typeCode, reporterCode, ...) in snake_case and take upstream's codes, several of them comma-separated as upstream takes them ("757,842"). Reporter and partner codes are UN Comtrade's, not ISO numeric: Switzerland is 757. Every argument is checked before the call: coded ones (type_code, cl_code, flow_code, customs_code, mot_code, aggregate_by, breakdown_mode) against the lists packaged from upstream's reference files and spec (xippios.comtrade.enums), reporter_code against the packaged copy of upstream's Reporters.json (reference/Reporters.csv) and partner_code and partner2_code against that of partnerAreas.json, the others by shape; a mistake raises InvalidRequestError naming the closest valid value (756 names 757, Switzerland).

from xippios.comtrade import list_commodities, list_partners, list_reporters

list_reporters().data  # 255 reporters, packaged with this version: no call
list_reporters(search="switz").data  # code, ISO alpha-3 or name, any case: 757
list_partners().data  # 310 partner areas, 0 World among them
list_commodities("HS", search="coffee").data  # from 8,262 HS codes, fetched keyless once

Four task-shaped slices answer the common questions in one call each (the series in one call per 12 periods), at the total of every breakdown, one row per reporter × partner × product code × period. Areas are UN Comtrade's codes or ISO alpha-3 codes; YYYY periods ask for annual data, YYYYMM for monthly:

from xippios.comtrade import (
    get_bilateral_flows,
    get_commodity_series,
    get_top_partners,
    get_world_trade,
)

get_bilateral_flows("CHE", "USA", "TOTAL,27", "2022,2023", "X").data  # 4 rows
years = ",".join(str(year) for year in range(2010, 2024))
get_commodity_series("757", "27", "X", years).data  # 14 years, two calls, by period
get_world_trade("27", "2023", "M").data[0].reporter_desc  # 'China': largest first
[r.partner_desc for r in get_top_partners("CHE", "TOTAL", "2023", "X", 3).data]
# ['USA', 'Germany', 'China']: World, the total, is dropped

Release dates are per dataset, so they sit on the rows, not in meta.published_at:

from xippios.comtrade import get_data_availability, get_live_update, get_metadata

[dataset] = get_data_availability("C", "A", "HS", reporter_code="757", period="2023").data
dataset.first_released, dataset.last_released  # first publication and latest revision
notes = get_metadata("C", "A", "HS", reporter_code="757", period="2023").data[0].notes
[note.publication_date for note in notes]  # "New Data", then each "Revised Data"
get_live_update().data  # the 50 most recent releases, newest first

get_data counts first with upstream's countOnly: a count of zero returns an empty result without a second call, and a count above 100,000 raises QueryTooLarge with the count before anything is fetched, because upstream would cut the answer at 100,000 rows without saying so. A free key allows 1 call per second and 500 calls per day, and countOnly calls count; the client spaces calls 1.5 s apart (upstream's gateway refuses some calls spaced exactly 1 s apart), the daily quota is yours to track.

MCP

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "comtrade": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "xippios-comtrade[mcp]", "xippios-comtrade-mcp"],
      "env": { "COMTRADE_API_KEY": "..." }
    }
  }
}

Tools are read-only and named comtrade_<verb>_<noun>. Results are capped at 200 rows or 64 KB with a note on how to narrow the query. Unfiltered, comtrade_list_reporters, comtrade_list_partners and comtrade_list_commodities show the first rows of their table only (200 of 255 reporters, in upstream's alphabetical order), so they take search: {"search": "switz"} returns 757 Switzerland. --http serves streamable HTTP instead of stdio.

Status

All twelve are covered in 0.1.0, the first release. Alpha: the public surface may change in a minor version before 1.0; CHANGELOG.md lists every change.

Upstream terms and attribution

Data comes from UN Comtrade (https://comtradeplus.un.org) under its own terms of use; this package adds no rights to it. Documentation snapshot: docs/upstream/.

Licence

Apache-2.0. See LICENSE.