diff --git a/src/blockchain_utilities/blockchain_export.cpp b/src/blockchain_utilities/blockchain_export.cpp
index e55930b00..87cd7945c 100644
--- a/src/blockchain_utilities/blockchain_export.cpp
+++ b/src/blockchain_utilities/blockchain_export.cpp
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
   epee::string_tools::set_module_name_and_folder(argv[0]);
 
   uint32_t log_level = 0;
+  uint64_t block_start = 0;
   uint64_t block_stop = 0;
   bool blocks_dat = false;
 
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
   po::options_description desc_cmd_sett("Command line options and settings options");
   const command_line::arg_descriptor<std::string> arg_output_file = {"output-file", "Specify output file", "", true};
   const command_line::arg_descriptor<std::string> arg_log_level  = {"log-level",  "0-4 or categories", ""};
+  const command_line::arg_descriptor<uint64_t> arg_block_start = {"block-start", "Start at block number", block_start};
   const command_line::arg_descriptor<uint64_t> arg_block_stop = {"block-stop", "Stop at block number", block_stop};
   const command_line::arg_descriptor<bool> arg_blocks_dat = {"blocksdat", "Output in blocks.dat format", blocks_dat};
 
@@ -67,6 +69,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
   command_line::add_arg(desc_cmd_sett, cryptonote::arg_testnet_on);
   command_line::add_arg(desc_cmd_sett, cryptonote::arg_stagenet_on);
   command_line::add_arg(desc_cmd_sett, arg_log_level);
+  command_line::add_arg(desc_cmd_sett, arg_block_start);
   command_line::add_arg(desc_cmd_sett, arg_block_stop);
   command_line::add_arg(desc_cmd_sett, arg_blocks_dat);
 
@@ -97,6 +100,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
     mlog_set_log(command_line::get_arg(vm, arg_log_level).c_str());
   else
     mlog_set_log(std::string(std::to_string(log_level) + ",bcutil:INFO").c_str());
+  block_start = command_line::get_arg(vm, arg_block_start);
   block_stop = command_line::get_arg(vm, arg_block_stop);
 
   LOG_PRINT_L0("Starting...");
@@ -178,7 +182,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
   else
   {
     BootstrapFile bootstrap;
-    r = bootstrap.store_blockchain_raw(core_storage, NULL, output_file_path, block_stop);
+    r = bootstrap.store_blockchain_raw(core_storage, NULL, output_file_path, block_start, block_stop);
   }
   CHECK_AND_ASSERT_MES(r, 1, "Failed to export blockchain raw data");
   LOG_PRINT_L0("Blockchain raw data exported OK");
diff --git a/src/blockchain_utilities/blockchain_import.cpp b/src/blockchain_utilities/blockchain_import.cpp
index ab2313096..60c069c3b 100644
--- a/src/blockchain_utilities/blockchain_import.cpp
+++ b/src/blockchain_utilities/blockchain_import.cpp
@@ -227,6 +227,7 @@ int import_from_file(cryptonote::core& core, const std::string& import_file_path
     return false;
   }
 
+  uint64_t block_first, block_last;
   uint64_t start_height = 1, seek_height;
   if (opt_resume)
     start_height = core.get_blockchain_storage().get_current_blockchain_height();
@@ -235,10 +236,10 @@ int import_from_file(cryptonote::core& core, const std::string& import_file_path
   BootstrapFile bootstrap;
   std::streampos pos;
   // BootstrapFile bootstrap(import_file_path);
-  uint64_t total_source_blocks = bootstrap.count_blocks(import_file_path, pos, seek_height);
-  MINFO("bootstrap file last block number: " << total_source_blocks-1 << " (zero-based height)  total blocks: " << total_source_blocks);
+  uint64_t total_source_blocks = bootstrap.count_blocks(import_file_path, pos, seek_height, block_first);
+  MINFO("bootstrap file last block number: " << total_source_blocks+block_first-1 << " (zero-based height)  total blocks: " << total_source_blocks);
 
-  if (total_source_blocks-1 <= start_height)
+  if (total_source_blocks+block_first-1 <= start_height)
   {
     return false;
   }
@@ -260,7 +261,8 @@ int import_from_file(cryptonote::core& core, const std::string& import_file_path
 
   // 4 byte magic + (currently) 1024 byte header structures
   uint8_t major_version, minor_version;
-  bootstrap.seek_to_first_chunk(import_file, major_version, minor_version);
+  uint64_t dummy;
+  bootstrap.seek_to_first_chunk(import_file, major_version, minor_version, dummy, dummy);
 
   std::string str1;
   char buffer1[1024];
@@ -275,7 +277,7 @@ int import_from_file(cryptonote::core& core, const std::string& import_file_path
 
   if (! block_stop)
   {
-    block_stop = total_source_blocks - 1;
+    block_stop = total_source_blocks+block_first - 1;
   }
 
   // These are what we'll try to use, and they don't have to be a determination
diff --git a/src/blockchain_utilities/bootstrap_file.cpp b/src/blockchain_utilities/bootstrap_file.cpp
index a4704626f..7050b9ab1 100644
--- a/src/blockchain_utilities/bootstrap_file.cpp
+++ b/src/blockchain_utilities/bootstrap_file.cpp
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ namespace
 
 
 
-bool BootstrapFile::open_writer(const boost::filesystem::path& file_path)
+bool BootstrapFile::open_writer(const boost::filesystem::path& file_path, uint64_t start_block, uint64_t stop_block)
 {
   const boost::filesystem::path dir_path = file_path.parent_path();
   if (!dir_path.empty())
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ bool BootstrapFile::open_writer(const boost::filesystem::path& file_path)
   m_raw_data_file = new std::ofstream();
 
   bool do_initialize_file = false;
-  uint64_t num_blocks = 0;
+  uint64_t num_blocks = 0, block_first = 0;
 
   if (! boost::filesystem::exists(file_path))
   {
@@ -88,10 +88,12 @@ bool BootstrapFile::open_writer(const boost::filesystem::path& file_path)
   }
   else
   {
-    num_blocks = count_blocks(file_path.string());
-    MDEBUG("appending to existing file with height: " << num_blocks-1 << "  total blocks: " << num_blocks);
+    std::streampos dummy_pos;
+    uint64_t dummy_height = 0;
+    num_blocks = count_blocks(file_path.string(), dummy_pos, dummy_height, block_first);
+    MDEBUG("appending to existing file with height: " << num_blocks+block_first-1 << "  total blocks: " << num_blocks);
   }
-  m_height = num_blocks;
+  m_height = num_blocks+block_first;
 
   if (do_initialize_file)
     m_raw_data_file->open(file_path.string(), std::ios_base::binary | std::ios_base::out | std::ios::trunc);
@@ -106,13 +108,12 @@ bool BootstrapFile::open_writer(const boost::filesystem::path& file_path)
     return false;
 
   if (do_initialize_file)
-    initialize_file();
+    initialize_file(start_block, stop_block);
 
   return true;
 }
 
-
-bool BootstrapFile::initialize_file()
+bool BootstrapFile::initialize_file(uint64_t first_block, uint64_t last_block)
 {
   const uint32_t file_magic = blockchain_raw_magic;
 
@@ -129,8 +130,8 @@ bool BootstrapFile::initialize_file()
   bfi.header_size = header_size;
 
   bootstrap::blocks_info bbi;
-  bbi.block_first = 0;
-  bbi.block_last = 0;
+  bbi.block_first = first_block;
+  bbi.block_last = last_block;
   bbi.block_last_pos = 0;
 
   buffer_type buffer2;
@@ -261,7 +262,7 @@ bool BootstrapFile::close()
 }
 
 
-bool BootstrapFile::store_blockchain_raw(Blockchain* _blockchain_storage, tx_memory_pool* _tx_pool, boost::filesystem::path& output_file, uint64_t requested_block_stop)
+bool BootstrapFile::store_blockchain_raw(Blockchain* _blockchain_storage, tx_memory_pool* _tx_pool, boost::filesystem::path& output_file, uint64_t start_block, uint64_t requested_block_stop)
 {
   uint64_t num_blocks_written = 0;
   m_max_chunk = 0;
@@ -269,17 +270,11 @@ bool BootstrapFile::store_blockchain_raw(Blockchain* _blockchain_storage, tx_mem
   m_tx_pool = _tx_pool;
   uint64_t progress_interval = 100;
   MINFO("Storing blocks raw data...");
-  if (!BootstrapFile::open_writer(output_file))
-  {
-    MFATAL("failed to open raw file for write");
-    return false;
-  }
   block b;
 
   // block_start, block_stop use 0-based height. m_height uses 1-based height. So to resume export
   // from last exported block, block_start doesn't need to add 1 here, as it's already at the next
   // height.
-  uint64_t block_start = m_height;
   uint64_t block_stop = 0;
   MINFO("source blockchain height: " <<  m_blockchain_storage->get_current_blockchain_height()-1);
   if ((requested_block_stop > 0) && (requested_block_stop < m_blockchain_storage->get_current_blockchain_height()))
@@ -292,6 +287,13 @@ bool BootstrapFile::store_blockchain_raw(Blockchain* _blockchain_storage, tx_mem
     block_stop = m_blockchain_storage->get_current_blockchain_height() - 1;
     MINFO("Using block height of source blockchain: " << block_stop);
   }
+  if (!BootstrapFile::open_writer(output_file, start_block, block_stop))
+  {
+    MFATAL("failed to open raw file for write");
+    return false;
+  }
+  uint64_t block_start = m_height ? m_height : start_block;
+  MINFO("Starting block height: " << block_start);
   for (m_cur_height = block_start; m_cur_height <= block_stop; ++m_cur_height)
   {
     // this method's height refers to 0-based height (genesis block = height 0)
@@ -323,7 +325,8 @@ bool BootstrapFile::store_blockchain_raw(Blockchain* _blockchain_storage, tx_mem
   return BootstrapFile::close();
 }
 
-uint64_t BootstrapFile::seek_to_first_chunk(std::ifstream& import_file, uint8_t &major_version, uint8_t &minor_version)
+uint64_t BootstrapFile::seek_to_first_chunk(std::ifstream& import_file, uint8_t &major_version, uint8_t &minor_version,
+	uint64_t &block_first, uint64_t &block_last)
 {
   uint32_t file_magic;
 
@@ -368,11 +371,35 @@ uint64_t BootstrapFile::seek_to_first_chunk(std::ifstream& import_file, uint8_t
   MINFO("bootstrap magic size: " << sizeof(file_magic));
   MINFO("bootstrap header size: " << bfi.header_size);
 
+  uint32_t buflen_blocks_info;
+
+  import_file.read(buf1, sizeof(buflen_blocks_info));
+  str1.assign(buf1, sizeof(buflen_blocks_info));
+  if (! import_file)
+    throw std::runtime_error("Error reading expected number of bytes");
+  if (! ::serialization::parse_binary(str1, buflen_blocks_info))
+    throw std::runtime_error("Error in deserialization of buflen_blocks_info");
+  MINFO("bootstrap::blocks_info size: " << buflen_blocks_info);
+
+  if (buflen_blocks_info > sizeof(buf1))
+    throw std::runtime_error("Error: bootstrap::blocks_info size exceeds buffer size");
+  import_file.read(buf1, buflen_blocks_info);
+  if (! import_file)
+    throw std::runtime_error("Error reading expected number of bytes");
+  str1.assign(buf1, buflen_blocks_info);
+  bootstrap::blocks_info bbi;
+  if (! ::serialization::parse_binary(str1, bbi))
+    throw std::runtime_error("Error in deserialization of bootstrap::blocks_info");
+  MINFO("bootstrap first block:" << bbi.block_first);
+  MINFO("bootstrap last block:" << bbi.block_last);
+
   uint64_t full_header_size = sizeof(file_magic) + bfi.header_size;
   import_file.seekg(full_header_size);
 
   major_version = bfi.major_version;
   minor_version = bfi.minor_version;
+  block_first = bbi.block_first;
+  block_last = bbi.block_last;
   return full_header_size;
 }
 
@@ -436,13 +463,14 @@ uint64_t BootstrapFile::count_blocks(const std::string& import_file_path)
 {
   std::streampos dummy_pos;
   uint64_t dummy_height = 0;
-  return count_blocks(import_file_path, dummy_pos, dummy_height);
+  return count_blocks(import_file_path, dummy_pos, dummy_height, dummy_height);
 }
 
 // If seek_height is non-zero on entry, return a stream position <= this height when finished.
 // And return the actual height corresponding to this position. Allows the caller to locate its
 // starting position without having to reread the entire file again.
-uint64_t BootstrapFile::count_blocks(const std::string& import_file_path, std::streampos &start_pos, uint64_t& seek_height)
+uint64_t BootstrapFile::count_blocks(const std::string& import_file_path, std::streampos &start_pos,
+	uint64_t& seek_height, uint64_t &block_first)
 {
   boost::filesystem::path raw_file_path(import_file_path);
   boost::system::error_code ec;
@@ -464,7 +492,8 @@ uint64_t BootstrapFile::count_blocks(const std::string& import_file_path, std::s
 
   uint64_t full_header_size; // 4 byte magic + length of header structures
   uint8_t major_version, minor_version;
-  full_header_size = seek_to_first_chunk(import_file, major_version, minor_version);
+  uint64_t block_last;
+  full_header_size = seek_to_first_chunk(import_file, major_version, minor_version, block_first, block_last);
 
   MINFO("Scanning blockchain from bootstrap file...");
   bool quit = false;
@@ -473,11 +502,11 @@ uint64_t BootstrapFile::count_blocks(const std::string& import_file_path, std::s
 
   while (! quit)
   {
-    if (start_height && h + progress_interval >= start_height - 1)
+    if (start_height && h + block_first + progress_interval >= start_height - 1)
     {
       start_height = 0;
       start_pos = import_file.tellg();
-      seek_height = h;
+      seek_height = h + block_first;
     }
     bytes_read += count_bytes(import_file, progress_interval, blocks, quit);
     h += blocks;
diff --git a/src/blockchain_utilities/bootstrap_file.h b/src/blockchain_utilities/bootstrap_file.h
index 23dbb64d7..ff2875a61 100644
--- a/src/blockchain_utilities/bootstrap_file.h
+++ b/src/blockchain_utilities/bootstrap_file.h
@@ -57,12 +57,12 @@ class BootstrapFile
 public:
 
   uint64_t count_bytes(std::ifstream& import_file, uint64_t blocks, uint64_t& h, bool& quit);
-  uint64_t count_blocks(const std::string& dir_path, std::streampos& start_pos, uint64_t& seek_height);
+  uint64_t count_blocks(const std::string& dir_path, std::streampos& start_pos, uint64_t& seek_height, uint64_t& block_first);
   uint64_t count_blocks(const std::string& dir_path);
-  uint64_t seek_to_first_chunk(std::ifstream& import_file, uint8_t &major_version, uint8_t &minor_version);
+  uint64_t seek_to_first_chunk(std::ifstream& import_file, uint8_t &major_version, uint8_t &minor_version, uint64_t &block_first, uint64_t &block_last);
 
   bool store_blockchain_raw(cryptonote::Blockchain* cs, cryptonote::tx_memory_pool* txp,
-      boost::filesystem::path& output_file, uint64_t use_block_height=0);
+      boost::filesystem::path& output_file, uint64_t start_block=0, uint64_t stop_block=0);
 
 protected:
 
@@ -75,8 +75,8 @@ protected:
   boost::iostreams::stream<boost::iostreams::back_insert_device<buffer_type>>* m_output_stream;
 
   // open export file for write
-  bool open_writer(const boost::filesystem::path& file_path);
-  bool initialize_file();
+  bool open_writer(const boost::filesystem::path& file_path, uint64_t start_block, uint64_t stop_block);
+  bool initialize_file(uint64_t start_block, uint64_t stop_block);
   bool close();
   void write_block(block& block);
   void flush_chunk();