Import/export HS code 3606: Fire-starting alloys and combustible materials

Includes ferro-cerium and other fire-starting alloys, as well as items made from combustible materials like lighter flints and similar products

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 £
Ireland 10,193,129
Netherlands 7,495,138
Turkey 4,009,617
China 2,346,672
Poland 2,331,555

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 £
Ireland 5,394,687 4,798,442 -596,245
Netherlands 3,737,915 3,757,223 +19,308
Turkey 2,150,285 1,859,332 -290,953
China 1,131,330 1,215,342 +84,012
Poland 1,404,000 927,555 -476,445
Romania 776,710 904,827 +128,117
Germany 659,052 551,370 -107,682
United States 713,272 313,233 -400,039
Czechia 401,861 424,682 +22,821
Philippines 313,247 334,456 +21,209

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 £
Netherlands 6,765,989
Ireland 6,471,195
Turkey 4,106,406
China 2,758,511
Poland 2,672,532

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 £
Netherlands 3,485,185 3,280,804 -204,381
Ireland 3,295,344 3,175,851 -119,493
Turkey 2,342,753 1,763,653 -579,100
China 1,489,526 1,268,985 -220,541
Poland 1,455,187 1,217,345 -237,842
Romania 793,918 928,295 +134,377
United States 873,570 399,358 -474,212
Czechia 398,778 427,277 +28,499
Philippines 313,247 334,456 +21,209
Germany 444,116 191,780 -252,336

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 7
Greater Manchester 7
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 6
Outer London - West and North West 6
West Yorkshire 6

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 5 6 +1
Greater Manchester 5 4 -1
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 5 5 +0
Outer London - West and North West 4 2 -2
West Yorkshire 2 4 +2
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 3 5 +2
West Midlands 2 3 +1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 2 2 +0
Kent 2 2 +0
Lancashire 2 3 +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) 19,303,214
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 11,033,590
Other 4,285,010
Air transport 169,574

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) 10,109,774 9,193,440 -916,334
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 5,823,012 5,210,578 -612,434
Other 2,278,332 2,006,678 -271,654
Air transport 86,055 83,519 -2,536

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 6,772,636
Immingham Docks 6,664,321
Liverpool Docks 4,434,440
000 4,285,010
Dover 4,084,782

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 £
Felixstowe 3,606,777 3,165,859 -440,918
Immingham Docks 3,582,187 3,082,134 -500,053
Liverpool Docks 2,051,261 2,383,179 +331,918
000 2,278,332 2,006,678 -271,654
Dover 2,415,994 1,668,788 -747,206
Holyhead 1,404,486 379,022 -1,025,464
Southampton 1,041,764 582,791 -458,973
Harwich 523,027 440,179 -82,848
Thamesport 401,279 393,269 -8,010
Killingholme 70,308 570,860 +500,552

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 45
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 14
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 4
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 3
Manufacture of rubber and plastic products 3

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 8
2025-11 13
2025-10 7
2025-09 10
2025-08 6

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
1m-15m 34
54m+ 20
15m-54m 16
Other 6
0-1m 3

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 £
Italy 9,091,015
Spain 6,196,911
Netherlands 5,940,044
Australia 4,598,156
Germany 4,561,678

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 £
Italy 4,602,295 4,488,720 -113,575
Spain 3,142,371 3,054,540 -87,831
Netherlands 3,549,373 2,390,671 -1,158,702
Australia 2,983,326 1,614,830 -1,368,496
Germany 2,798,324 1,763,354 -1,034,970
United States 2,195,142 1,533,730 -661,412
Portugal 2,007,652 1,630,994 -376,658
Saudi Arabia 918,549 1,534,048 +615,499
France 1,095,435 1,091,409 -4,026
New Zealand 667,870 1,061,452 +393,582

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 £
Ireland 197,298
Netherlands 135,044
XI 7,548
United Arab Emirates 2,369
China 11

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 £
Ireland 109,291 88,007 -21,284
Netherlands 16,210 118,834 +102,624
XI 6,039 1,509 -4,530
United Arab Emirates 345 2,024 +1,679
China 11 0 -11
Turkey 7 0 -7

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) 32,732,829
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 19,316,500
Air transport 476,964
Other 376,344
Rail transport 9,415

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) 17,110,304 15,622,525 -1,487,779
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 11,253,576 8,062,924 -3,190,652
Air transport 273,366 203,598 -69,768
Other 149,070 227,274 +78,204
Rail transport 9,415 0 -9,415

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 17,613,601
Dover / Eurotunnel 14,599,745
London Gateway Port 5,110,196
Southampton 4,836,527
Felixstowe 3,014,640

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 £
Immingham Docks 9,295,155 8,318,446 -976,709
Dover / Eurotunnel 7,647,188 6,952,557 -694,631
London Gateway Port 2,103,258 3,006,938 +903,680
Southampton 2,708,142 2,128,385 -579,757
Felixstowe 2,384,039 630,601 -1,753,438
Liverpool Docks 770,299 911,539 +141,240
Newhaven 899,261 182,115 -717,146
Eurotunnel 682,133 331,195 -350,938
Middlesbrough 622,871 326,812 -296,059
Holyhead 260,637 200,251 -60,386

Related HS codes

What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.

Quick facts

HS code: 3606

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

Description: Includes ferro-cerium and other fire-starting alloys, as well as items made from combustible materials like lighter flints and similar products