Import/export HS code 281122: Silicon dioxide
A compound used in glass, ceramics, and as a food additive
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Germany | 36,705,014 |
| France | 16,165,023 |
| Netherlands | 15,854,527 |
| China | 13,296,100 |
| United States | 10,962,604 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 19,475,292 | 17,229,722 | -2,245,570 |
| France | 6,405,267 | 9,759,756 | +3,354,489 |
| Netherlands | 7,333,114 | 8,521,413 | +1,188,299 |
| China | 6,255,630 | 7,040,470 | +784,840 |
| United States | 7,612,895 | 3,349,709 | -4,263,186 |
| Belgium | 2,963,937 | 2,618,753 | -345,184 |
| Norway | 2,936,920 | 2,134,495 | -802,425 |
| Taiwan | 2,804,632 | 386,719 | -2,417,913 |
| Japan | 1,635,633 | 1,197,107 | -438,526 |
| Switzerland | 680,940 | 829,118 | +148,178 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Germany | 30,328,717 |
| France | 18,160,703 |
| China | 16,353,676 |
| Netherlands | 9,609,886 |
| United States | 9,406,804 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 15,427,624 | 14,901,093 | -526,531 |
| France | 7,291,917 | 10,868,786 | +3,576,869 |
| China | 8,042,915 | 8,310,761 | +267,846 |
| Netherlands | 4,241,564 | 5,368,322 | +1,126,758 |
| United States | 6,879,090 | 2,527,714 | -4,351,376 |
| Belgium | 5,326,243 | 3,953,646 | -1,372,597 |
| Norway | 4,010,871 | 2,980,433 | -1,030,438 |
| Japan | 2,130,090 | 1,670,752 | -459,338 |
| Taiwan | 2,905,284 | 736,933 | -2,168,351 |
| Finland | 1,905,832 | 1,107,821 | -798,011 |
Importers across UK regions
What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.
Top 5 values
| UK region | Companies |
|---|---|
| Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire | 15 |
| Inner London - West | 12 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 11 |
| Shropshire and Staffordshire | 10 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 10 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire | 12 | 11 | -1 |
| Inner London - West | 6 | 10 | +4 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 8 | 9 | +1 |
| Shropshire and Staffordshire | 8 | 9 | +1 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 7 | 9 | +2 |
| Greater Manchester | 6 | 7 | +1 |
| Cheshire | 6 | 7 | +1 |
| East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire | 8 | 6 | -2 |
| Inner London - East | 5 | 5 | +0 |
| Merseyside | 6 | 6 | +0 |
Import volume by transport
What this shows: Import value by transport mode used to bring goods into the UK.
Top 5 values
| Transport | £ |
|---|---|
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 73,859,508 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 37,855,491 |
| Air transport | 5,481,236 |
| Other | 1,009,486 |
| Road transport | 447,807 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 36,799,804 | 37,059,704 | +259,900 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 22,245,074 | 15,610,417 | -6,634,657 |
| Air transport | 2,481,221 | 3,000,015 | +518,794 |
| Other | 626,512 | 382,974 | -243,538 |
| Road transport | 177,630 | 270,177 | +92,547 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Dover | 15,735,516 |
| Immingham Docks | 13,871,686 |
| Felixstowe | 12,448,274 |
| Eurotunnel | 11,581,362 |
| Tyne | 10,352,004 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | 7,381,424 | 8,354,092 | +972,668 |
| Immingham Docks | 6,438,561 | 7,433,125 | +994,564 |
| Felixstowe | 7,150,618 | 5,297,656 | -1,852,962 |
| Eurotunnel | 7,356,351 | 4,225,011 | -3,131,340 |
| Tyne | 4,594,878 | 5,757,126 | +1,162,248 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 1,956,335 | 5,371,038 | +3,414,703 |
| Hull | 3,703,934 | 1,414,038 | -2,289,896 |
| Boston | 2,804,994 | 1,904,658 | -900,336 |
| Belfast Port | 4,381,595 | 130,353 | -4,251,242 |
| Southampton | 2,388,714 | 2,115,833 | -272,881 |
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 | 48 |
| Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 39 |
| Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities | 15 |
| Manufacture of food products | 15 |
| Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 14 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2025-11 | 50 |
| 2025-10 | 61 |
| 2025-09 | 51 |
| 2025-08 | 59 |
| 2025-07 | 54 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| B & M RETAIL LIMITED | 118 |
| SIGMA-ALDRICH COMPANY LIMITED | 114 |
| ASTON CHEMICALS LIMITED | 104 |
| TOLSA UK LIMITED | 87 |
| WHITMAN LABORATORIES LIMITED | 87 |
| SAFIC-ALCAN UK LIMITED | 68 |
| ANPARIO PLC | 58 |
| VWR INTERNATIONAL LTD | 56 |
| CAMBRIDGE COMMODITIES LIMITED | 52 |
| MEGACHEM (UK) LTD. | 50 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 54m+ | 105 |
| 1m-15m | 40 |
| 15m-54m | 18 |
| Other | 16 |
| 0-1m | 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 | £ |
|---|---|
| United States | 195,785,622 |
| Belgium | 13,728,518 |
| Germany | 10,626,342 |
| Italy | 6,260,048 |
| Poland | 5,540,081 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 174,267,690 | 21,517,932 | -152,749,758 |
| Belgium | 8,555,391 | 5,173,127 | -3,382,264 |
| Germany | 5,691,870 | 4,934,472 | -757,398 |
| Italy | 3,386,270 | 2,873,778 | -512,492 |
| Poland | 4,163,319 | 1,376,762 | -2,786,557 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2,860,362 | 2,512,219 | -348,143 |
| China | 1,757,717 | 2,999,670 | +1,241,953 |
| Ireland | 2,726,166 | 1,792,318 | -933,848 |
| Sweden | 2,373,683 | 2,128,157 | -245,526 |
| Spain | 1,837,227 | 2,361,044 | +523,817 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Norway | 12,334 |
| China | 1,206 |
| XU | 441 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 12,334 | 0 | -12,334 |
| China | 1,206 | 0 | -1,206 |
| XU | 64 | 377 | +313 |
Export volume by transport
What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.
Top 5 values
| Transport | £ |
|---|---|
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 235,424,325 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 54,502,784 |
| Air transport | 5,226,984 |
| Road transport | 22,600 |
| Other | 13,981 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 198,371,721 | 37,052,604 | -161,319,117 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 30,362,523 | 24,140,261 | -6,222,262 |
| Air transport | 2,943,630 | 2,283,354 | -660,276 |
| Road transport | 22,600 | 0 | -22,600 |
| Other | 13,604 | 377 | -13,227 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Southampton | 203,130,162 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 34,827,860 |
| London Gateway Port | 18,388,911 |
| Immingham Docks | 12,702,256 |
| Felixstowe | 4,885,084 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton | 178,466,988 | 24,663,174 | -153,803,814 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 19,874,939 | 14,952,921 | -4,922,018 |
| London Gateway Port | 10,065,704 | 8,323,207 | -1,742,497 |
| Immingham Docks | 7,788,274 | 4,913,982 | -2,874,292 |
| Felixstowe | 3,266,127 | 1,618,957 | -1,647,170 |
| Holyhead | 2,215,361 | 1,271,654 | -943,707 |
| Liverpool Docks | 1,345,023 | 1,598,170 | +253,147 |
| Hull | 1,839,249 | 453,437 | -1,385,812 |
| Newhaven | 861,861 | 1,372,567 | +510,706 |
| London | 971,678 | 1,079,155 | +107,477 |
Quick facts
HS code: 281122
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: A compound used in glass, ceramics, and as a food additive