Import/export HS code 291550: Propionic acid

A chemical used in food preservation and animal feed

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 10,849,279
Netherlands 5,823,713
Belgium 2,318,613
United States 2,091,664
Canada 895,426

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 5,781,244 5,068,035 -713,209
Netherlands 3,002,355 2,821,358 -180,997
Belgium 834,836 1,483,777 +648,941
United States 1,026,283 1,065,381 +39,098
Canada 431,997 463,429 +31,432
Sweden 382,487 486,967 +104,480
France 534,742 257,350 -277,392
Switzerland 193,481 359,225 +165,744
China 213,269 232,135 +18,866
Italy 241,371 182,476 -58,895

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 8,184,911
Netherlands 7,798,744
United States 3,176,597
Spain 1,050,987
Canada 934,993

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 4,209,399 3,975,512 -233,887
Netherlands 4,603,573 3,195,171 -1,408,402
United States 1,478,745 1,697,852 +219,107
Spain 275,234 775,753 +500,519
Canada 449,866 485,127 +35,261
Belgium 283,858 637,213 +353,355
Sweden 406,039 466,129 +60,090
China 246,029 538,917 +292,888
Italy 261,117 190,748 -70,369
France 144,614 180,791 +36,177

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Greater Manchester 7
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 6
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5
Inner London - West 4
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 4

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
Greater Manchester 7 6 -1
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 6 4 -2
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 3 4 +1
Inner London - West 3 3 +0
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 3 3 +0
West Yorkshire 4 4 +0
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 3 2 -1
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3 2 -1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 1 2 +1
Cheshire 1 2 +1

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) 16,082,816
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 8,787,829
Other 792,127
Air transport 235,236
Road transport 5,078

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) 8,169,304 7,913,512 -255,792
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 4,416,009 4,371,820 -44,189
Other 300,367 491,760 +191,393
Air transport 110,555 124,681 +14,126
Road transport 0 5,078 +5,078

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Hull 6,802,131
Immingham Docks 4,423,083
Harwich 2,841,795
Liverpool Docks 2,339,576
Dover 1,967,049

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 £
Hull 3,652,670 3,149,461 -503,209
Immingham Docks 2,255,598 2,167,485 -88,113
Harwich 1,748,765 1,093,030 -655,735
Liverpool Docks 1,315,972 1,023,604 -292,368
Dover 876,210 1,090,839 +214,629
Felixstowe 790,006 1,159,289 +369,283
London 544,416 629,254 +84,838
Grangemouth Docks 446,349 596,382 +150,033
000 300,367 491,760 +191,393
Southampton 77,515 305,896 +228,381

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 24
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 21
Manufacture of food products 19
Other manufacturing 6
Land transport and transport via pipelines 3

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 18
2025-11 17
2025-10 19
2025-09 22
2025-08 25

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+ 30
1m-15m 19
15m-54m 11
Other 6
0-1m 2

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 2,070,876
Germany 1,210,507
Ireland 954,551
Spain 741,226
Netherlands 603,530

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 1,281,449 789,427 -492,022
Germany 666,707 543,800 -122,907
Ireland 512,791 441,760 -71,031
Spain 361,515 379,711 +18,196
Netherlands 381,214 222,316 -158,898
India 108,277 74,450 -33,827
Brazil 64,291 112,150 +47,859
France 78,313 46,186 -32,127
Argentina 79,255 43,793 -35,462
Singapore 36,959 79,732 +42,773

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 386,184
Germany 86,221

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 193,218 192,966 -252
Germany 23,821 62,400 +38,579

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) 3,290,013
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 3,272,501
Other 472,405
Air transport 396,851

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) 1,981,787 1,308,226 -673,561
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,706,398 1,566,103 -140,295
Other 217,039 255,366 +38,327
Air transport 270,484 126,367 -144,117

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Gateway Port 1,845,179
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,814,565
Immingham Docks 569,807
Southampton 501,520
Liverpool Docks 492,722

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 £
London Gateway Port 1,279,468 565,711 -713,757
Dover / Eurotunnel 924,082 890,483 -33,599
Immingham Docks 371,586 198,221 -173,365
Southampton 216,695 284,825 +68,130
Liverpool Docks 128,089 364,633 +236,544
000 217,039 255,366 +38,327
Hull 269,142 185,654 -83,488
London 273,165 110,395 -162,770
Holyhead 73,320 132,598 +59,278
Manchester Airport 133,490 24,684 -108,806

Quick facts

HS code: 291550

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

Description: A chemical used in food preservation and animal feed