Import/export HS code 340242: Non-ionic surface-active agents

Cleaning agents without a charge, used in detergents and emulsifiers

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 107,041,937
Netherlands 68,422,876
Italy 35,467,251
Ireland 19,534,859
Belgium 17,546,960

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 49,620,146 57,421,791 +7,801,645
Netherlands 34,535,692 33,887,184 -648,508
Italy 22,205,031 13,262,220 -8,942,811
Ireland 9,787,062 9,747,797 -39,265
Belgium 11,675,295 5,871,665 -5,803,630
France 6,775,116 7,078,628 +303,512
Poland 5,405,214 4,503,344 -901,870
Slovakia 5,264,293 3,600,722 -1,663,571
United States 4,273,377 3,183,166 -1,090,211
New Zealand 4,574,055 2,618,158 -1,955,897

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 87,215,265
Netherlands 71,422,215
Italy 39,887,796
United States 36,145,105
Belgium 16,049,929

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 41,747,263 45,468,002 +3,720,739
Netherlands 36,426,212 34,996,003 -1,430,209
Italy 24,970,627 14,917,169 -10,053,458
United States 18,639,970 17,505,135 -1,134,835
Belgium 8,115,433 7,934,496 -180,937
Poland 6,000,034 5,433,865 -566,169
Slovakia 5,902,902 3,714,264 -2,188,638
France 4,471,675 4,514,719 +43,044
Spain 3,333,743 3,919,431 +585,688
New Zealand 4,575,423 2,620,090 -1,955,333

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Greater Manchester 46
West Yorkshire 27
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 26
Inner London - West 25
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 20

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 36 35 -1
West Yorkshire 20 25 +5
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 18 23 +5
Inner London - West 21 19 -2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 17 14 -3
Cheshire 14 12 -2
Lancashire 13 11 -2
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 10 9 -1
Merseyside 12 10 -2
Surrey, East and West Sussex 11 8 -3

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) 196,814,874
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 120,459,364
Air transport 5,502,426
Other 4,702,859
Road transport 690,428

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) 100,708,828 96,106,046 -4,602,782
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 63,940,992 56,518,372 -7,422,620
Air transport 2,653,528 2,848,898 +195,370
Other 3,165,141 1,537,718 -1,627,423
Road transport 250,586 439,842 +189,256
Rail transport 4,857 0 -4,857

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 106,409,575
London 58,341,665
Dover 28,288,388
Felixstowe 22,299,058
Middlesbrough 19,395,691

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 52,529,271 53,880,304 +1,351,033
London 29,500,868 28,840,797 -660,071
Dover 14,116,482 14,171,906 +55,424
Felixstowe 11,540,547 10,758,511 -782,036
Middlesbrough 10,198,762 9,196,929 -1,001,833
Holyhead 8,857,268 9,663,544 +806,276
Hull 8,729,044 6,207,528 -2,521,516
Killingholme 7,555,798 3,722,600 -3,833,198
Eurotunnel 4,687,636 4,634,337 -53,299
London Gateway Port 5,687,492 3,615,149 -2,072,343

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 176
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 91
Other manufacturing 31
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 19
Manufacture of food products 18

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 130
2025-11 113
2025-10 139
2025-09 118
2025-08 122

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+ 207
1m-15m 132
15m-54m 55
Other 24
0-1m 23

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 £
China 9,301,784
Germany 8,591,256
United States 8,415,491
France 7,757,182
Ireland 7,672,424

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 £
China 742,593 8,559,191 +7,816,598
Germany 4,859,503 3,731,753 -1,127,750
United States 5,202,863 3,212,628 -1,990,235
France 3,075,300 4,681,882 +1,606,582
Ireland 4,234,988 3,437,436 -797,552
Netherlands 2,772,515 2,873,051 +100,536
Italy 2,199,025 2,291,838 +92,813
Spain 2,220,267 1,869,083 -351,184
Poland 1,903,334 1,637,303 -266,031
India 1,564,138 1,556,297 -7,841

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 274,202
Czechia 40,334
Poland 7,844
Belgium 1,209
Italy 23

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 150,753 123,449 -27,304
Czechia 20,643 19,691 -952
Poland 0 7,844 +7,844
Belgium 131 1,078 +947
Italy 0 23 +23

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) 48,816,567
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 37,177,083
Air transport 13,147,203
Other 331,422
Rail transport 2,010

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) 24,624,036 24,192,531 -431,505
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 22,057,998 15,119,085 -6,938,913
Air transport 2,736,604 10,410,599 +7,673,995
Other 176,571 154,851 -21,720
Rail transport 2,010 0 -2,010

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 24,711,879
London Gateway Port 12,564,734
Immingham Docks 12,473,055
ZLC 8,225,974
Southampton 7,204,552

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 13,396,749 11,315,130 -2,081,619
London Gateway Port 7,205,149 5,359,585 -1,845,564
Immingham Docks 6,369,533 6,103,522 -266,011
ZLC 52,108 8,173,866 +8,121,758
Southampton 3,959,572 3,244,980 -714,592
Felixstowe 2,908,851 2,741,298 -167,553
Liverpool Docks 3,434,486 2,168,530 -1,265,956
London 1,113,615 2,492,641 +1,379,026
Holyhead 1,750,367 1,738,646 -11,721
Grangemouth Docks 2,077,673 976,584 -1,101,089

Quick facts

HS code: 340242

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

Description: Cleaning agents without a charge, used in detergents and emulsifiers