Import/export HS code 280920: Phosphoric acid and related acids

Commonly used in food, fertilizers, and cleaning products. Includes polyphosphoric acids, which are used in various chemical processes

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 £
Israel 75,148,991
Belgium 30,369,348
China 10,679,494
Germany 1,550,487
United States 1,460,220

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 £
Israel 42,366,597 32,782,394 -9,584,203
Belgium 15,971,559 14,397,789 -1,573,770
China 5,003,722 5,675,772 +672,050
Germany 590,270 960,217 +369,947
United States 580,137 880,083 +299,946
Switzerland 666,632 539,882 -126,750
Netherlands 408,537 477,908 +69,371
France 332,294 354,337 +22,043
Poland 140,676 163,340 +22,664
Czechia 162,327 0 -162,327

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 £
Israel 75,226,419
Belgium 28,632,603
China 12,477,226
United States 1,433,145
Switzerland 1,334,617

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 £
Israel 42,410,307 32,816,112 -9,594,195
Belgium 14,567,929 14,064,674 -503,255
China 6,667,629 5,809,597 -858,032
United States 530,160 902,985 +372,825
Switzerland 760,752 573,865 -186,887
France 729,783 313,985 -415,798
Poland 140,021 885,515 +745,494
Germany 153,416 196,497 +43,081
Spain 85,344 48,518 -36,826
Netherlands 77,287 18,045 -59,242

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Yorkshire 4
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 3
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 3
Cheshire 3
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3

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
West Yorkshire 3 4 +1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 2 3 +1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 3 3 +0
Cheshire 3 1 -2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 2 3 +1
Greater Manchester 2 3 +1
Inner London - West 2 2 +0
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 3 3 +0
Outer London - West and North West 2 3 +1
Norfolk 2 1 -1

Import volume by transport

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

Top 5 values

Transport £
Other 61,935,108
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 36,338,962
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 26,817,004
Road transport 1,254,108
Air transport 214,278

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 £
Other 42,459,903 19,475,205 -22,984,698
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 18,419,795 17,919,167 -500,628
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 6,260,867 20,556,137 +14,295,270
Road transport 715,343 538,765 -176,578
Air transport 125,606 88,672 -36,934

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
000 61,935,108
Immingham Docks 28,660,294
499 13,626,770
Felixstowe 7,504,658
Dover 4,685,243

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 £
000 42,459,903 19,475,205 -22,984,698
Immingham Docks 14,500,390 14,159,904 -340,486
499 0 13,626,770 +13,626,770
Felixstowe 3,394,704 4,109,954 +715,250
Dover 1,753,623 2,931,620 +1,177,997
Liverpool Docks 1,015,270 1,399,871 +384,601
London 1,236,702 262,045 -974,657
ZLC 715,343 685,726 -29,617
London Gateway Port 884,984 484,353 -400,631
Belfast Port 677,476 231,240 -446,236

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 20
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 12
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 3
Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations 2
Manufacture of food products 2

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 13
2025-11 14
2025-10 10
2025-09 13
2025-08 13

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
54m+ 27
15m-54m 7
1m-15m 6
0-1m 3
Other 1

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 £
Ireland 32,127,442
France 2,895,138
Denmark 1,782,511
Belgium 504,259
Germany 313,280

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 £
Ireland 18,168,812 13,958,630 -4,210,182
France 1,006,431 1,888,707 +882,276
Denmark 1,778,127 4,384 -1,773,743
Belgium 377,030 127,229 -249,801
Germany 43,752 269,528 +225,776
Netherlands 212,356 56,818 -155,538
India 146,342 76,641 -69,701
Singapore 140,921 8,624 -132,297
Italy 74,743 69,436 -5,307
Brazil 138,878 3,492 -135,386

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 449,439
China 105,393
Belgium 100,634
Ireland 5,110

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 218,919 230,520 +11,601
China 78,668 26,725 -51,943
Belgium 88,039 12,595 -75,444
Ireland 3,532 1,578 -1,954

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) 37,185,918
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,081,311
Other 667,060
Air transport 208,905

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) 21,155,298 16,030,620 -5,124,678
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 787,778 293,533 -494,245
Other 391,494 275,566 -115,928
Air transport 64,905 144,000 +79,095

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Liverpool Docks 31,195,811
Immingham Docks 4,935,259
000 667,060
Dover / Eurotunnel 586,686
Middlesbrough 328,265

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 £
Liverpool Docks 17,623,556 13,572,255 -4,051,301
Immingham Docks 2,871,307 2,063,952 -807,355
000 391,494 275,566 -115,928
Dover / Eurotunnel 296,051 290,635 -5,416
Middlesbrough 325,513 2,752 -322,761
London Gateway Port 293,473 23,304 -270,169
Holyhead 154,392 145,196 -9,196
Southampton 152,512 82,689 -69,823
Felixstowe 134,550 91,307 -43,243
London Heathrow Airport 63,507 135,932 +72,425

Quick facts

HS code: 280920

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

Description: Commonly used in food, fertilizers, and cleaning products. Includes polyphosphoric acids, which are used in various chemical processes