Import/export HS code 38249955: Glycerol fatty acid esters (emulsifiers)

Chemical compounds used as emulsifiers in food, cosmetics, and industrial applications

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 £
Denmark 18,341,617
Netherlands 8,504,727
Belgium 1,295,445
Spain 676,023
Italy 647,522

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 £
Denmark 10,229,342 8,112,275 -2,117,067
Netherlands 4,549,647 3,955,080 -594,567
Belgium 710,530 584,915 -125,615
Spain 353,684 322,339 -31,345
Italy 359,546 287,976 -71,570
Germany 215,910 295,275 +79,365
France 201,571 279,551 +77,980
India 0 438,497 +438,497
Ireland 68,900 286,430 +217,530
Indonesia 0 135,071 +135,071

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 £
Denmark 17,444,439
Netherlands 5,534,722
Spain 1,345,707
Germany 1,326,965
Belgium 923,170

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 £
Denmark 9,791,924 7,652,515 -2,139,409
Netherlands 3,122,678 2,412,044 -710,634
Spain 748,649 597,058 -151,591
Germany 423,564 903,401 +479,837
Belgium 469,944 453,226 -16,718
Italy 256,056 213,625 -42,431
India 0 443,384 +443,384
Malaysia 121,772 203,915 +82,143
Indonesia 78,627 180,409 +101,782
United States 108,999 135,222 +26,223

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 6
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 5
Merseyside 5
West Yorkshire 5
Greater Manchester 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
Inner London - West 4 5 +1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 4 4 +0
Merseyside 5 3 -2
West Yorkshire 4 4 +0
Greater Manchester 2 3 +1
Shropshire and Staffordshire 2 4 +2
Cheshire 3 2 -1
West Midlands 1 2 +1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 2 2 +0
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 1 1 +0

Import volume by transport

What this shows: Import value by transport mode used to bring goods into the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 15,407,004
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 11,754,428
Other 3,511,193
Air transport 1,096,568
Road transport 11,642

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 £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 7,804,612 7,602,392 -202,220
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 6,423,355 5,331,073 -1,092,282
Other 1,786,209 1,724,984 -61,225
Air transport 785,910 310,658 -475,252
Road transport 0 11,642 +11,642

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 16,903,379
000 3,511,193
Eurotunnel 3,167,479
Dover 2,509,900
Harwich 1,628,000

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 8,851,559 8,051,820 -799,739
000 1,786,209 1,724,984 -61,225
Eurotunnel 1,704,164 1,463,315 -240,849
Dover 1,314,473 1,195,427 -119,046
Harwich 968,841 659,159 -309,682
Felixstowe 981,836 614,467 -367,369
London Gateway Port 0 485,965 +485,965
East Midlands Airport 375,255 101,080 -274,175
Manchester Airport 362,532 46,253 -316,279
Hull 8,419 226,431 +218,012

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 18
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 16
Manufacture of food products 16
Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products 3
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 2

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 21
2025-10 20
2025-09 17
2025-08 13
2025-07 17

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+ 31
1m-15m 18
15m-54m 11
0-1m 2
Other 1

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 5,622,601
Poland 221,140
Netherlands 92,017
Ireland 83,561
Saudi Arabia 46,546

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 2,966,513 2,656,088 -310,425
Poland 96,631 124,509 +27,878
Netherlands 5,506 86,511 +81,005
Ireland 32,309 51,252 +18,943
Saudi Arabia 46,546 0 -46,546
Taiwan 44,496 1,786 -42,710
Norway 28,110 7,110 -21,000
Cameroon 0 24,025 +24,025
Slovakia 10,960 11,603 +643
Turkey 21,940 0 -21,940

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 £
Denmark 24,073
XI 23,864
United States 2,665
Ireland 2,338

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 £
Denmark 6,150 17,923 +11,773
XI 19,478 4,386 -15,092
United States 0 2,665 +2,665
Ireland 0 2,338 +2,338

Export volume by transport

What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,649,900
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,489,400
Air transport 118,351
Other 52,940

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 £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,527,987 2,121,913 +593,926
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,666,698 822,702 -843,996
Air transport 96,053 22,298 -73,755
Other 25,628 27,312 +1,684

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 5,397,866
Killingholme 217,117
Dover / Eurotunnel 187,464
Middlesbrough 106,322
000 52,940

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 2,677,549 2,720,317 +42,768
Killingholme 217,117 0 -217,117
Dover / Eurotunnel 142,693 44,771 -97,922
Middlesbrough 0 106,322 +106,322
000 25,628 27,312 +1,684
Southampton 47,327 4,399 -42,928
Manchester Airport 46,546 0 -46,546
Liverpool Docks 43,173 0 -43,173
London Gateway Port 15,003 24,041 +9,038
East Midlands Airport 29,161 3,672 -25,489

Quick facts

HS code: 38249955

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

Description: Chemical compounds used as emulsifiers in food, cosmetics, and industrial applications