Import/export HS code 3821: Prepared culture media for growing cells or microbes
Special mixtures used in labs to grow bacteria, viruses, plants, or animal and human cells for research or medical purposes
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| United States | 48,007,933 |
| France | 38,373,609 |
| Netherlands | 21,580,913 |
| Germany | 13,736,647 |
| Belgium | 6,966,760 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 30,683,150 | 17,324,783 | -13,358,367 |
| France | 21,621,530 | 16,752,079 | -4,869,451 |
| Netherlands | 10,988,634 | 10,592,279 | -396,355 |
| Germany | 5,802,935 | 7,933,712 | +2,130,777 |
| Belgium | 3,620,320 | 3,346,440 | -273,880 |
| Canada | 754,020 | 3,914,844 | +3,160,824 |
| Italy | 2,202,129 | 1,810,840 | -391,289 |
| Sweden | 1,935,544 | 1,998,830 | +63,286 |
| Austria | 1,660,396 | 1,796,302 | +135,906 |
| Spain | 1,591,576 | 1,734,815 | +143,239 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| United States | 63,421,112 |
| France | 25,646,255 |
| Germany | 13,616,343 |
| Canada | 10,521,221 |
| Belgium | 7,413,380 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 37,335,950 | 26,085,162 | -11,250,788 |
| France | 14,334,339 | 11,311,916 | -3,022,423 |
| Germany | 6,056,462 | 7,559,881 | +1,503,419 |
| Canada | 5,886,503 | 4,634,718 | -1,251,785 |
| Belgium | 3,820,811 | 3,592,569 | -228,242 |
| Netherlands | 3,058,452 | 3,411,807 | +353,355 |
| Italy | 2,979,903 | 2,945,458 | -34,445 |
| Spain | 2,029,743 | 2,435,027 | +405,284 |
| Sweden | 1,863,593 | 1,779,021 | -84,572 |
| Costa Rica | 1,292,251 | 1,573,836 | +281,585 |
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 | 39 |
| Inner London - West | 34 |
| Cambridgeshire and Peterborough | 30 |
| Greater Manchester | 16 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 16 |
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 | 33 | 31 | -2 |
| Inner London - West | 26 | 21 | -5 |
| Cambridgeshire and Peterborough | 24 | 20 | -4 |
| Greater Manchester | 14 | 14 | +0 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 11 | 13 | +2 |
| East Central Scotland | 7 | 7 | +0 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 4 | 10 | +6 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 9 | 5 | -4 |
| Merseyside | 7 | 7 | +0 |
| West Yorkshire | 8 | 7 | -1 |
Import volume by transport
What this shows: Import value by transport mode used to bring goods into the UK.
Top 5 values
| Transport | £ |
|---|---|
| Air transport | 92,124,640 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 50,220,046 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 13,957,019 |
| Other | 1,533,524 |
| Road transport | 410,517 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air transport | 48,791,436 | 43,333,204 | -5,458,232 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 26,060,185 | 24,159,861 | -1,900,324 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 10,045,046 | 3,911,973 | -6,133,073 |
| Other | 838,175 | 695,349 | -142,826 |
| Road transport | 223,375 | 187,142 | -36,233 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| London Heathrow Airport | 33,734,842 |
| Eurotunnel | 25,704,038 |
| London Stansted Airport | 23,497,115 |
| East Midlands Airport | 22,867,894 |
| Dover | 16,034,451 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Heathrow Airport | 21,301,128 | 12,433,714 | -8,867,414 |
| Eurotunnel | 14,741,591 | 10,962,447 | -3,779,144 |
| London Stansted Airport | 9,272,918 | 14,224,197 | +4,951,279 |
| East Midlands Airport | 12,477,741 | 10,390,153 | -2,087,588 |
| Dover | 6,897,088 | 9,137,363 | +2,240,275 |
| Liverpool Docks | 6,403,069 | 470,661 | -5,932,408 |
| Birmingham Airport | 2,506,828 | 3,121,189 | +614,361 |
| Glasgow Airport | 2,055,236 | 1,840,056 | -215,180 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 1,810,284 | 1,019,585 | -790,699 |
| London | 1,122,523 | 1,560,344 | +437,821 |
Importer companies by SIC division
What this shows: Industry breakdown (SIC divisions) of importing companies.
Top 5 values
| SIC | Companies |
|---|---|
| Scientific research and development | 101 |
| Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 47 |
| Other professional, scientific and technical activities | 23 |
| Other manufacturing | 21 |
| Office administrative, office support and other business support activities | 20 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2025-11 | 77 |
| 2025-10 | 85 |
| 2025-09 | 81 |
| 2025-08 | 79 |
| 2025-07 | 79 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| REMEL EUROPE LIMITED | 119 |
| TREK DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS LIMITED | 118 |
| SIGMA-ALDRICH COMPANY LIMITED | 117 |
| LIFE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED | 115 |
| SAFC BIOSCIENCES LIMITED | 115 |
| BIOMERIEUX UK LIMITED | 113 |
| BIO-TECHNE LTD | 113 |
| OXOID LIMITED | 113 |
| EVOTEC (UK) LIMITED | 94 |
| LONZA GROUP UK LTD | 83 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 54m+ | 136 |
| 1m-15m | 105 |
| Other | 34 |
| 0-1m | 27 |
| 15m-54m | 16 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Ireland | 95,191,941 |
| Netherlands | 91,225,000 |
| Germany | 85,824,389 |
| United States | 60,900,556 |
| Denmark | 44,283,742 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 41,906,000 | 53,285,941 | +11,379,941 |
| Netherlands | 45,869,315 | 45,355,685 | -513,630 |
| Germany | 52,933,621 | 32,890,768 | -20,042,853 |
| United States | 39,749,912 | 21,150,644 | -18,599,268 |
| Denmark | 23,189,843 | 21,093,899 | -2,095,944 |
| Switzerland | 16,678,336 | 20,742,835 | +4,064,499 |
| South Korea | 20,449,889 | 14,909,738 | -5,540,151 |
| China | 11,854,852 | 19,796,393 | +7,941,541 |
| Spain | 18,356,885 | 10,408,925 | -7,947,960 |
| Singapore | 13,436,399 | 10,258,349 | -3,178,050 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Germany | 29,532 |
| United States | 1,855 |
| Ireland | 1,677 |
| XU | 854 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 21,888 | 7,644 | -14,244 |
| United States | 1,855 | 0 | -1,855 |
| Ireland | 1,677 | 0 | -1,677 |
| XU | 854 | 0 | -854 |
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) | 425,242,252 |
| Air transport | 206,418,331 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 72,083,639 |
| Road transport | 99,613 |
| Other | 33,918 |
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) | 199,066,675 | 226,175,577 | +27,108,902 |
| Air transport | 114,594,584 | 91,823,747 | -22,770,837 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 57,440,076 | 14,643,563 | -42,796,513 |
| Road transport | 99,613 | 0 | -99,613 |
| Other | 26,274 | 7,644 | -18,630 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Tyne | 176,073,962 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 107,796,065 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 82,047,166 |
| Holyhead | 81,296,669 |
| Glasgow Airport | 69,768,146 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyne | 83,862,513 | 92,211,449 | +8,348,936 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 60,321,731 | 47,474,334 | -12,847,397 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 45,709,044 | 36,338,122 | -9,370,922 |
| Holyhead | 30,926,909 | 50,369,760 | +19,442,851 |
| Glasgow Airport | 40,240,576 | 29,527,570 | -10,713,006 |
| Dover | 33,424,772 | 34,453,499 | +1,028,727 |
| Immingham Docks | 10,137,009 | 7,850,569 | -2,286,440 |
| Hull | 14,159,358 | 3,337,784 | -10,821,574 |
| East Midlands Airport | 10,320,966 | 6,577,606 | -3,743,360 |
| Grangemouth Docks | 7,337,964 | 4,852,572 | -2,485,392 |
Quick facts
HS code: 3821
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: Special mixtures used in labs to grow bacteria, viruses, plants, or animal and human cells for research or medical purposes