Import/export HS code 340241: Cationic surface-active agents

Cleaning agents with a positive charge, used in fabric softeners and disinfectants

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 £
Spain 4,674,399
Netherlands 3,378,815
Germany 2,720,993
France 2,196,377
Belgium 1,408,636

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 £
Spain 2,650,222 2,024,177 -626,045
Netherlands 1,868,673 1,510,142 -358,531
Germany 1,845,181 875,812 -969,369
France 895,076 1,301,301 +406,225
Belgium 580,695 827,941 +247,246
Sweden 896,117 422,812 -473,305
Ireland 568,229 278,862 -289,367
South Korea 303,576 181,141 -122,435
United States 154,011 172,359 +18,348
Turkey 0 253,001 +253,001

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 £
Spain 5,437,130
Germany 4,967,159
France 2,384,293
United States 1,922,007
Sweden 1,322,730

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 £
Spain 3,115,796 2,321,334 -794,462
Germany 2,971,775 1,995,384 -976,391
France 1,133,967 1,250,326 +116,359
United States 820,275 1,101,732 +281,457
Sweden 896,667 426,063 -470,604
Ireland 519,111 263,521 -255,590
South Korea 305,965 189,709 -116,256
China 166,874 70,850 -96,024
Italy 121,932 63,206 -58,726
Netherlands 63,026 115,191 +52,165

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Yorkshire 12
Greater Manchester 10
Inner London - West 5
Surrey, East and West Sussex 5
Cheshire 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
West Yorkshire 9 11 +2
Greater Manchester 7 9 +2
Inner London - West 0 5 +5
Surrey, East and West Sussex 2 5 +3
Cheshire 1 3 +2
East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 3 4 +1
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 2 4 +2
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 3 1 -2
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2 1 -1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 14,429,629
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,459,087
Air transport 676,496
Other 179,598
Rail transport 75,705

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) 8,158,564 6,271,065 -1,887,499
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,790,963 1,668,124 -122,839
Air transport 390,588 285,908 -104,680
Other 120,926 58,672 -62,254
Rail transport 70,642 5,063 -65,579
Road transport 30,698 20,246 -10,452

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 5,164,481
Liverpool Docks 3,148,877
Dover 1,804,521
London 1,495,106
Middlesbrough 1,048,828

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 £
Immingham Docks 3,172,796 1,991,685 -1,181,111
Liverpool Docks 1,872,027 1,276,850 -595,177
Dover 1,016,161 788,360 -227,801
London 569,027 926,079 +357,052
Middlesbrough 567,597 481,231 -86,366
Felixstowe 588,844 448,419 -140,425
Killingholme 329,505 608,467 +278,962
Harwich 192,113 386,705 +194,592
Eurotunnel 286,625 251,125 -35,500
Dagenham 440,049 0 -440,049

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 38
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 32
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 6
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 5
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 4

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 20
2025-11 24
2025-10 22
2025-09 22
2025-08 18

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+ 37
1m-15m 30
0-1m 11
15m-54m 11
Other 5

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 £
Belgium 2,364,121
Germany 1,452,463
India 1,263,131
Ireland 1,018,355
Japan 866,944

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 £
Belgium 1,046,081 1,318,040 +271,959
Germany 739,117 713,346 -25,771
India 695,800 567,331 -128,469
Ireland 561,622 456,733 -104,889
Japan 473,354 393,590 -79,764
Turkey 278,772 268,607 -10,165
United States 412,710 128,613 -284,097
Colombia 266,827 259,396 -7,431
Netherlands 220,366 245,517 +25,151
France 118,203 323,406 +205,203

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 127,361
China 21,573
Spain 42
Belgium 18

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 86,287 41,074 -45,213
China 8,423 13,150 +4,727
Spain 42 0 -42
Belgium 18 0 -18

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) 7,368,864
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 5,512,984
Air transport 786,343
Other 153,866

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) 3,328,167 4,040,697 +712,530
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,255,545 2,257,439 -998,106
Air transport 438,516 347,827 -90,689
Other 95,324 58,542 -36,782

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 3,179,153
Immingham Docks 3,007,860
London Gateway Port 2,639,115
Felixstowe 1,409,861
Southampton 970,830

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 1,643,940 1,535,213 -108,727
Immingham Docks 1,252,467 1,755,393 +502,926
London Gateway Port 1,473,676 1,165,439 -308,237
Felixstowe 746,685 663,176 -83,509
Southampton 667,431 303,399 -364,032
London Heathrow Airport 277,726 188,523 -89,203
Liverpool Docks 234,093 132,842 -101,251
Hull 130,894 162,081 +31,187
Holyhead 170,740 115,127 -55,613
Dover 58,174 226,278 +168,104

Quick facts

HS code: 340241

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

Description: Cleaning agents with a positive charge, used in fabric softeners and disinfectants