Import/export HS code 120740: Sesame seeds

Small seeds from the sesame plant, used in cooking and oil production

Why this is important if you are looking for potential customers in the UK:

  • It helps you understand the market size for your product in the UK.
  • It provides you with a list of potential leads who have bought similar products.

* UK only, last 24 months analysed

Imports by country

What this shows: Import market volume by exporter country into the UK.

Top 5 values

Country £
India 7,679,927
Guatemala 3,781,900
China 2,146,790
Netherlands 866,568
Turkey 815,589

Countries rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month volume, right side by second 12-month volume, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Country First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
India 2,425,162 5,254,765 +2,829,603
Guatemala 1,202,110 2,579,790 +1,377,680
China 992,463 1,154,327 +161,864
Netherlands 256,722 609,846 +353,124
Turkey 371,532 444,057 +72,525
France 157,765 593,431 +435,666
Pakistan 12,663 307,162 +294,499
Greece 146,002 167,120 +21,118
Belgium 76,090 148,251 +72,161
Germany 60,039 61,019 +980

Imports by country of origin

What this shows: Import volume by production origin country. Differences from exporter-country data can indicate re-export routes.

Top 5 values

Origin £
India 7,784,811
Guatemala 4,081,907
China 2,221,243
Nigeria 895,963
Chad 747,923

Country of origin rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Origin countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Origin First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
India 2,496,173 5,288,638 +2,792,465
Guatemala 1,278,768 2,803,139 +1,524,371
China 1,007,682 1,213,561 +205,879
Nigeria 277,111 618,852 +341,741
Chad 328,304 419,619 +91,315
Pakistan 76,607 443,243 +366,636
Greece 132,407 140,648 +8,241
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 63,528 181,597 +118,069
Egypt 105,541 50,266 -55,275
Somalia 0 126,552 +126,552

Importers across UK regions

What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Outer London - West and North West 12
Inner London - East 7
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 7
Outer London - East and North East 7
West Midlands 7

UK regions rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: UK regions are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month importer count, right side by second 12-month importer count, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

UK region First 12m Second 12m Delta
Outer London - West and North West 9 9 +0
Inner London - East 7 5 -2
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 5 5 +0
Outer London - East and North East 5 5 +0
West Midlands 6 6 +0
Essex 4 5 +1
Greater Manchester 4 6 +2
Inner London - West 5 4 -1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 3 4 +1
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 3 1 -2

Import volume by transport

What this shows: Import value by transport mode used to bring goods into the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 15,576,311
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,032,017
Other 71,723
Air transport 17,338
Road transport 2,682

Transport rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Transport modes are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Transport First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 5,434,724 10,141,587 +4,706,863
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 492,489 1,539,528 +1,047,039
Other 28,742 42,981 +14,239
Air transport 3,694 13,644 +9,950
Road transport 0 2,682 +2,682

Import volume by port

What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 7,678,370
London Gateway Port 7,125,890
Southampton 1,282,903
Dover 562,464
Eurotunnel 357,391

Port rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Ports are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Port First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Felixstowe 2,731,347 4,947,023 +2,215,676
London Gateway Port 2,651,332 4,474,558 +1,823,226
Southampton 205,120 1,077,783 +872,663
Dover 143,159 419,305 +276,146
Eurotunnel 54,763 302,628 +247,865
Harwich 81,897 216,470 +134,573
Immingham Docks 4,201 130,376 +126,175
London 37,929 56,253 +18,324
000 28,742 42,981 +14,239
Dover / Eurotunnel 11,210 43,381 +32,171

Importer companies by SIC division

What this shows: Industry breakdown (SIC divisions) of importing companies.

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 71
Manufacture of food products 20
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 17
Food and beverage service activities 8
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 3

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 21
2025-10 20
2025-09 21
2025-08 21
2025-07 19

Top importers

What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.

Importer company size by revenue band

What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.

Top 5 values

Revenue Companies
1m-15m 39
54m+ 29
0-1m 15
15m-54m 14
Other 4

Import seasonality

What this shows: Average monthly import pattern from historical data.

Exports by country

What this shows: Export market volume by destination country from the UK.

Top 5 values

Country £
Netherlands 648,171
Germany 525,596
Ireland 396,122
United States 113,978
Jordan 106,323

Export countries rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Destination countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export volume, right side by second 12-month export volume, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Country First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Netherlands 337,529 310,642 -26,887
Germany 432,335 93,261 -339,074
Ireland 168,727 227,395 +58,668
United States 84,128 29,850 -54,278
Jordan 0 106,323 +106,323
Iceland 66,597 36,936 -29,661
Poland 92,153 0 -92,153
Sweden 0 59,287 +59,287
Spain 1,452 54,051 +52,599
France 67 42,901 +42,834

Exports by country of origin

What this shows: Export volume by production origin country. For re-exports, indicates where goods originated before UK export.

Top 5 values

Origin £
XI 99,629
XU 13,116
China 9,315
Belgium 5,729
Bulgaria 5,168

Export origin countries rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Origin countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Origin First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
XI 43,237 56,392 +13,155
XU 7,969 5,147 -2,822
China 3,389 5,926 +2,537
Belgium 908 4,821 +3,913
Bulgaria 1,951 3,217 +1,266
Japan 214 332 +118
Ireland 0 450 +450
France 137 0 -137

Export volume by transport

What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,562,913
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 449,000
Other 134,090
Air transport 94,165

Export transport rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Transport modes are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Transport First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 840,328 722,585 -117,743
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 257,053 191,947 -65,106
Other 57,805 76,285 +18,480
Air transport 90,584 3,581 -87,003

Export volume by port

What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 631,312
Dover / Eurotunnel 518,083
Harwich 209,637
Immingham Docks 186,713
Liverpool Docks 150,666

Export port rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Ports are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Port First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Felixstowe 366,262 265,050 -101,212
Dover / Eurotunnel 308,735 209,348 -99,387
Harwich 135,029 74,608 -60,421
Immingham Docks 155,235 31,478 -123,757
Liverpool Docks 91,358 59,308 -32,050
000 57,805 76,285 +18,480
London Gateway Port 22,211 111,308 +89,097
London Heathrow Airport 88,216 1,982 -86,234
Holyhead 15,133 71,034 +55,901
Southampton 0 29,850 +29,850

Related HS codes

What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.

Quick facts

HS code: 120740

Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months

Description: Small seeds from the sesame plant, used in cooking and oil production