Import/export HS code 3208: Paints and varnishes (non-aqueous)
Paints and varnishes made from synthetic or modified natural polymers, dissolved or dispersed in non-water liquids
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 | 105,936,476 |
| France | 101,261,752 |
| Netherlands | 96,714,421 |
| Italy | 55,838,610 |
| Belgium | 43,402,119 |
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 | 56,280,501 | 49,655,975 | -6,624,526 |
| France | 50,140,047 | 51,121,705 | +981,658 |
| Netherlands | 52,536,724 | 44,177,697 | -8,359,027 |
| Italy | 28,158,402 | 27,680,208 | -478,194 |
| Belgium | 25,074,765 | 18,327,354 | -6,747,411 |
| Spain | 21,065,585 | 12,987,254 | -8,078,331 |
| United States | 14,640,079 | 12,749,101 | -1,890,978 |
| Sweden | 9,225,687 | 8,420,352 | -805,335 |
| Poland | 10,462,702 | 6,773,756 | -3,688,946 |
| Ireland | 6,495,115 | 6,260,870 | -234,245 |
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 | 136,197,693 |
| Italy | 72,761,650 |
| Netherlands | 71,399,219 |
| Spain | 44,307,936 |
| France | 37,520,381 |
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 | 73,043,171 | 63,154,522 | -9,888,649 |
| Italy | 38,032,488 | 34,729,162 | -3,303,326 |
| Netherlands | 39,062,861 | 32,336,358 | -6,726,503 |
| Spain | 24,527,769 | 19,780,167 | -4,747,602 |
| France | 18,364,438 | 19,155,943 | +791,505 |
| Poland | 20,013,290 | 17,472,427 | -2,540,863 |
| United States | 18,926,254 | 17,008,172 | -1,918,082 |
| Belgium | 14,038,004 | 12,186,172 | -1,851,832 |
| Switzerland | 11,560,269 | 11,234,856 | -325,413 |
| Sweden | 9,877,088 | 8,779,236 | -1,097,852 |
Importers across UK regions
What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.
Top 5 values
| UK region | Companies |
|---|---|
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 57 |
| West Midlands | 39 |
| Greater Manchester | 34 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 34 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 30 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 48 | 47 | -1 |
| West Midlands | 26 | 31 | +5 |
| Greater Manchester | 30 | 24 | -6 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 26 | 26 | +0 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 26 | 19 | -7 |
| Inner London - West | 23 | 19 | -4 |
| West Yorkshire | 18 | 20 | +2 |
| Shropshire and Staffordshire | 22 | 18 | -4 |
| Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire | 19 | 19 | +0 |
| Essex | 15 | 14 | -1 |
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) | 462,350,928 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 68,939,257 |
| Air transport | 28,830,398 |
| Other | 13,836,009 |
| Road transport | 2,705,649 |
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) | 243,852,883 | 218,498,045 | -25,354,838 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 37,618,533 | 31,320,724 | -6,297,809 |
| Air transport | 14,856,254 | 13,974,144 | -882,110 |
| Other | 7,195,181 | 6,640,828 | -554,353 |
| Road transport | 836,753 | 1,868,896 | +1,032,143 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Dover | 228,943,095 |
| Immingham Docks | 66,611,781 |
| Harwich | 43,643,382 |
| Felixstowe | 39,379,835 |
| London | 27,798,362 |
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 | 117,245,103 | 111,697,992 | -5,547,111 |
| Immingham Docks | 32,494,430 | 34,117,351 | +1,622,921 |
| Harwich | 24,328,898 | 19,314,484 | -5,014,414 |
| Felixstowe | 18,588,802 | 20,791,033 | +2,202,231 |
| London | 17,257,060 | 10,541,302 | -6,715,758 |
| Killingholme | 12,989,518 | 7,397,197 | -5,592,321 |
| Eurotunnel | 11,670,253 | 8,464,393 | -3,205,860 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 8,195,175 | 6,185,984 | -2,009,191 |
| 000 | 7,195,181 | 6,640,828 | -554,353 |
| Middlesbrough | 6,952,647 | 5,593,160 | -1,359,487 |
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 | 182 |
| Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products | 111 |
| Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 52 |
| Other manufacturing | 48 |
| Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 40 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2025-11 | 211 |
| 2025-10 | 233 |
| 2025-09 | 210 |
| 2025-08 | 198 |
| 2025-07 | 228 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| INTERNATIONAL PAINT LIMITED | 118 |
| 151 PRODUCTS LIMITED | 118 |
| PPG INDUSTRIES (UK) LIMITED | 111 |
| JOTUN PAINTS (EUROPE) LIMITED | 110 |
| 3M UNITED KINGDOM PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY | 109 |
| WESCO AIRCRAFT EMEA, LTD. | 104 |
| AEROSPHERES (UK) LIMITED | 99 |
| WOOLBRO (DISTRIBUTION) LIMITED | 98 |
| WHITFORD LIMITED | 94 |
| SIL-MID LIMITED | 92 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 54m+ | 258 |
| 1m-15m | 237 |
| 0-1m | 85 |
| 15m-54m | 70 |
| Other | 46 |
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 | 116,160,825 |
| Ireland | 92,021,206 |
| Belgium | 86,448,397 |
| Germany | 78,570,601 |
| United States | 77,847,929 |
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 | 77,319,232 | 38,841,593 | -38,477,639 |
| Ireland | 52,193,254 | 39,827,952 | -12,365,302 |
| Belgium | 29,617,861 | 56,830,536 | +27,212,675 |
| Germany | 39,203,213 | 39,367,388 | +164,175 |
| United States | 44,348,717 | 33,499,212 | -10,849,505 |
| Italy | 37,284,628 | 33,410,893 | -3,873,735 |
| Spain | 25,339,516 | 25,174,366 | -165,150 |
| Turkey | 24,941,402 | 18,542,058 | -6,399,344 |
| France | 19,766,093 | 20,093,879 | +327,786 |
| Poland | 14,089,135 | 18,156,992 | +4,067,857 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| XU | 6,502,309 |
| XI | 1,727,101 |
| Ireland | 908,325 |
| Slovakia | 255,714 |
| Germany | 183,536 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| XU | 3,464,674 | 3,037,635 | -427,039 |
| XI | 850,584 | 876,517 | +25,933 |
| Ireland | 361,852 | 546,473 | +184,621 |
| Slovakia | 42,180 | 213,534 | +171,354 |
| Germany | 63,926 | 119,610 | +55,684 |
| Belgium | 67,023 | 98,585 | +31,562 |
| Spain | 73,629 | 88,479 | +14,850 |
| Netherlands | 37,876 | 59,912 | +22,036 |
| Poland | 48,969 | 38,277 | -10,692 |
| Italy | 29,212 | 29,785 | +573 |
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) | 663,493,731 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 299,793,553 |
| Air transport | 61,447,071 |
| Other | 10,271,899 |
| Road transport | 147,656 |
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) | 327,741,360 | 335,752,371 | +8,011,011 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 183,208,517 | 116,585,036 | -66,623,481 |
| Air transport | 31,888,213 | 29,558,858 | -2,329,355 |
| Other | 5,107,456 | 5,164,443 | +56,987 |
| Road transport | 145,625 | 2,031 | -143,594 |
| Rail transport | 35,787 | 8,779 | -27,008 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 340,464,175 |
| Immingham Docks | 195,076,490 |
| Southampton | 95,285,563 |
| London Gateway Port | 93,410,900 |
| Holyhead | 45,938,589 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 175,715,997 | 164,748,178 | -10,967,819 |
| Immingham Docks | 98,992,716 | 96,083,774 | -2,908,942 |
| Southampton | 53,032,068 | 42,253,495 | -10,778,573 |
| London Gateway Port | 52,726,345 | 40,684,555 | -12,041,790 |
| Holyhead | 25,899,114 | 20,039,475 | -5,859,639 |
| Felixstowe | 24,199,556 | 19,066,257 | -5,133,299 |
| London | 17,223,565 | 23,104,828 | +5,881,263 |
| Liverpool Docks | 21,054,251 | 11,565,980 | -9,488,271 |
| Dover | 15,291,940 | 12,038,554 | -3,253,386 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 12,576,833 | 11,391,504 | -1,185,329 |
Related HS codes
What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.
Quick facts
HS code: 3208
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: Paints and varnishes made from synthetic or modified natural polymers, dissolved or dispersed in non-water liquids