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 18,137,713
Netherlands 8,571,295
Belgium 1,335,014
Spain 654,011
Italy 600,086

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 10,273,153 7,864,560 -2,408,593
Netherlands 4,494,700 4,076,595 -418,105
Belgium 781,719 553,295 -228,424
Spain 360,705 293,306 -67,399
Italy 310,839 289,247 -21,592
Germany 242,564 277,352 +34,788
France 265,939 252,400 -13,539
India 0 503,099 +503,099
Ireland 54,252 294,822 +240,570
Indonesia 0 155,009 +155,009

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 17,269,453
Netherlands 5,582,544
Germany 1,437,703
Spain 1,360,912
Belgium 955,416

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 9,893,190 7,376,263 -2,516,927
Netherlands 3,076,453 2,506,091 -570,362
Germany 447,349 990,354 +543,005
Spain 808,664 552,248 -256,416
Belgium 498,308 457,108 -41,200
India 0 507,986 +507,986
Italy 208,343 212,631 +4,288
Malaysia 90,161 244,070 +153,909
Indonesia 84,252 178,118 +93,866
United States 105,346 141,439 +36,093

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 6
Inner London - West 6
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
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 4 5 +1
Inner London - West 5 4 -1
Merseyside 5 3 -2
West Yorkshire 4 4 +0
Greater Manchester 3 3 +0
Shropshire and Staffordshire 3 4 +1
Cheshire 3 2 -1
West Midlands 1 2 +1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 2 2 +0
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 1 2 +1

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) 15,469,584
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 11,721,618
Other 3,395,031
Air transport 1,169,810
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) 7,981,843 7,487,741 -494,102
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 6,396,054 5,325,564 -1,070,490
Other 1,748,390 1,646,641 -101,749
Air transport 817,148 352,662 -464,486
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 16,913,792
000 3,395,031
Eurotunnel 3,169,251
Dover 2,552,363
Harwich 1,670,194

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 8,980,215 7,933,577 -1,046,638
000 1,748,390 1,646,641 -101,749
Eurotunnel 1,713,006 1,456,245 -256,761
Dover 1,432,595 1,119,768 -312,827
Harwich 959,106 711,088 -248,018
Felixstowe 931,936 607,164 -324,772
London Gateway Port 0 550,567 +550,567
East Midlands Airport 402,397 113,947 -288,450
Manchester Airport 368,450 46,653 -321,797
Hull 6,397 226,431 +220,034

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 17
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
2026-01 19
2025-11 21
2025-10 20
2025-09 17
2025-08 13

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 5,743,564
Poland 313,546
Netherlands 93,880
Ireland 83,605
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 3,062,374 2,681,190 -381,184
Poland 176,010 137,536 -38,474
Netherlands 5,506 88,374 +82,868
Ireland 33,683 49,922 +16,239
Saudi Arabia 46,546 0 -46,546
Taiwan 44,496 1,786 -42,710
Norway 19,066 7,110 -11,956
Cameroon 19,897 4,128 -15,769
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 23,908
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 20,852 3,056 -17,796
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) 3,656,106
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,698,426
Air transport 109,307
Other 52,984

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) 1,607,054 2,049,052 +441,998
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,784,501 913,925 -870,576
Air transport 87,009 22,298 -64,711
Other 27,002 25,982 -1,020

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 5,743,574
Dover / Eurotunnel 187,464
Middlesbrough 106,322
Killingholme 86,641
000 52,984

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 2,983,265 2,760,309 -222,956
Dover / Eurotunnel 144,426 43,038 -101,388
Middlesbrough 0 106,322 +106,322
Killingholme 86,641 0 -86,641
000 27,002 25,982 -1,020
Southampton 47,327 4,399 -42,928
Manchester Airport 46,546 0 -46,546
Liverpool Docks 43,173 0 -43,173
London Gateway Port 31,316 7,728 -23,588
Felixstowe 21,940 2,918 -19,022

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