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 4,610,610
Netherlands 3,404,939
Germany 2,942,586
France 2,189,140
Belgium 1,455,967

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 2,628,203 1,982,407 -645,796
Netherlands 1,882,033 1,522,906 -359,127
Germany 2,001,281 941,305 -1,059,976
France 905,224 1,283,916 +378,692
Belgium 664,661 791,306 +126,645
Sweden 878,708 475,736 -402,972
Ireland 552,410 236,518 -315,892
South Korea 280,974 196,613 -84,361
United States 171,370 161,908 -9,462
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 5,419,881
Germany 5,080,419
France 2,401,514
United States 1,937,095
Sweden 1,353,996

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 3,165,689 2,254,192 -911,497
Germany 3,008,239 2,072,180 -936,059
France 1,181,819 1,219,695 +37,876
United States 758,185 1,178,910 +420,725
Sweden 875,009 478,987 -396,022
Ireland 483,938 221,177 -262,761
South Korea 283,363 202,577 -80,786
Netherlands 171,193 127,674 -43,519
China 134,967 100,734 -34,233
Italy 146,061 66,355 -79,706

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Greater Manchester 11
West Yorkshire 11
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
Greater Manchester 8 9 +1
West Yorkshire 9 11 +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
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 3 1 -2
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2 1 -1
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3 1 -2
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 2 2 +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) 14,674,939
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,395,339
Air transport 736,941
Other 208,130
Rail transport 81,189

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) 8,335,679 6,339,260 -1,996,419
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,580,070 1,815,269 +235,199
Air transport 446,035 290,906 -155,129
Other 147,436 60,694 -86,742
Rail transport 76,126 5,063 -71,063
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 5,264,028
Liverpool Docks 3,040,332
Dover 1,878,329
London 1,469,344
Middlesbrough 1,075,655

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 3,252,194 2,011,834 -1,240,360
Liverpool Docks 1,678,146 1,362,186 -315,960
Dover 1,128,429 749,900 -378,529
London 616,569 852,775 +236,206
Middlesbrough 594,424 481,231 -113,193
Felixstowe 464,364 579,357 +114,993
Killingholme 221,509 725,613 +504,104
Eurotunnel 370,116 246,940 -123,176
Harwich 215,836 355,731 +139,895
Dagenham 462,883 0 -462,883

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 40
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 33
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 6
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 4
Other manufacturing 4

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 24
2025-10 22
2025-09 22
2025-08 18
2025-07 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+ 38
1m-15m 32
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 2,360,896
Germany 1,416,273
India 1,274,068
Ireland 1,026,857
Japan 869,977

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 1,082,702 1,278,194 +195,492
Germany 643,185 773,088 +129,903
India 627,838 646,230 +18,392
Ireland 539,665 487,192 -52,473
Japan 458,793 411,184 -47,609
Colombia 289,108 263,113 -25,995
Turkey 261,027 277,193 +16,166
France 171,366 324,769 +153,403
United States 412,065 83,813 -328,252
Netherlands 220,420 249,552 +29,132

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 142,381
China 22,539
XU 4,705
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 71,895 70,486 -1,409
China 8,666 13,873 +5,207
XU 147 4,558 +4,411
Spain 42 0 -42
Belgium 9 9 +0

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) 7,334,765
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 5,647,789
Air transport 769,318
Other 169,685

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) 3,137,194 4,197,571 +1,060,377
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,351,643 2,296,146 -1,055,497
Air transport 418,652 350,666 -67,986
Other 80,759 88,926 +8,167

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 3,177,703
Immingham Docks 2,938,455
London Gateway Port 2,711,379
Felixstowe 1,415,756
Southampton 945,965

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 1,504,216 1,673,487 +169,271
Immingham Docks 1,175,831 1,762,624 +586,793
London Gateway Port 1,552,030 1,159,349 -392,681
Felixstowe 677,380 738,376 +60,996
Southampton 682,919 263,046 -419,873
London Heathrow Airport 265,923 188,668 -77,255
Liverpool Docks 214,545 158,677 -55,868
Dover 95,023 224,067 +129,044
Hull 138,732 161,946 +23,214
Holyhead 166,182 119,605 -46,577

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