Import/export HS code 391231: Carboxymethylcellulose and its salts
A type of cellulose derivative used as a thickener or stabiliser in food and industrial 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 | £ |
|---|---|
| France | 7,257,321 |
| Finland | 4,325,133 |
| Netherlands | 3,310,160 |
| Germany | 2,205,208 |
| Belgium | 2,052,203 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 4,123,780 | 3,133,541 | -990,239 |
| Finland | 2,912,950 | 1,412,183 | -1,500,767 |
| Netherlands | 1,887,762 | 1,422,398 | -465,364 |
| Germany | 799,068 | 1,406,140 | +607,072 |
| Belgium | 585,685 | 1,466,518 | +880,833 |
| Switzerland | 415,632 | 1,134,077 | +718,445 |
| China | 601,267 | 703,000 | +101,733 |
| Italy | 534,662 | 300,702 | -233,960 |
| Ireland | 568,633 | 240,587 | -328,046 |
| Turkey | 251,640 | 208,008 | -43,632 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| France | 7,762,890 |
| Finland | 6,784,861 |
| Germany | 2,618,791 |
| China | 1,802,902 |
| Italy | 973,685 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 3,861,022 | 3,901,868 | +40,846 |
| Finland | 3,852,595 | 2,932,266 | -920,329 |
| Germany | 1,043,399 | 1,575,392 | +531,993 |
| China | 981,370 | 821,532 | -159,838 |
| Italy | 551,788 | 421,897 | -129,891 |
| Netherlands | 651,155 | 251,057 | -400,098 |
| Brazil | 457,687 | 432,681 | -25,006 |
| Turkey | 531,863 | 352,386 | -179,477 |
| Taiwan | 203,446 | 151,502 | -51,944 |
| Austria | 117,119 | 123,661 | +6,542 |
Importers across UK regions
What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.
Top 5 values
| UK region | Companies |
|---|---|
| Inner London - West | 8 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 7 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 6 |
| Inner London - East | 5 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 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 | 6 | 8 | +2 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 4 | 6 | +2 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 6 | 5 | -1 |
| Inner London - East | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 3 | 3 | +0 |
| Cheshire | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 1 | 4 | +3 |
| Cambridgeshire and Peterborough | 2 | 3 | +1 |
| Merseyside | 3 | 2 | -1 |
| North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset | 3 | 3 | +0 |
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) | 18,089,238 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 5,009,302 |
| Other | 966,608 |
| Air transport | 741,802 |
| Road transport | 1,140 |
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) | 9,678,001 | 8,411,237 | -1,266,764 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 2,591,642 | 2,417,660 | -173,982 |
| Other | 396,401 | 570,207 | +173,806 |
| Air transport | 369,119 | 372,683 | +3,564 |
| Road transport | 0 | 1,140 | +1,140 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Dover | 5,720,715 |
| Portsmouth | 3,014,085 |
| Felixstowe | 2,910,975 |
| Immingham Docks | 2,702,029 |
| Newhaven | 2,055,992 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | 2,911,042 | 2,809,673 | -101,369 |
| Portsmouth | 1,571,679 | 1,442,406 | -129,273 |
| Felixstowe | 1,837,241 | 1,073,734 | -763,507 |
| Immingham Docks | 1,205,336 | 1,496,693 | +291,357 |
| Newhaven | 996,678 | 1,059,314 | +62,636 |
| London | 852,226 | 287,558 | -564,668 |
| Purfleet | 431,626 | 664,222 | +232,596 |
| 000 | 396,401 | 570,207 | +173,806 |
| Harwich | 263,948 | 399,295 | +135,347 |
| Hull | 628,597 | 0 | -628,597 |
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 | 15 |
| Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products | 11 |
| Manufacture of food products | 10 |
| Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations | 9 |
| Manufacture of paper and paper products | 6 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2026-01 | 22 |
| 2025-11 | 20 |
| 2025-10 | 24 |
| 2025-09 | 17 |
| 2025-08 | 19 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| ASHLAND SPECIALTIES UK LIMITED | 48 |
| ESSITY UK LIMITED | 46 |
| BRITVIC SOFT DRINKS LIMITED | 45 |
| DANISCO (UK) LIMITED | 45 |
| NORKEM LIMITED | 44 |
| AZELIS UK LIMITED | 43 |
| SIGMA-ALDRICH COMPANY LIMITED | 42 |
| SCHLUMBERGER OILFIELD UK LIMITED | 41 |
| PME CAKE LIMITED | 41 |
| COLORCON LIMITED | 39 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 54m+ | 43 |
| 1m-15m | 24 |
| 15m-54m | 13 |
| 0-1m | 4 |
| Other | 4 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Turkey | 403,254 |
| United States | 312,064 |
| Germany | 154,683 |
| Ireland | 153,462 |
| Italy | 147,544 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 85,507 | 317,747 | +232,240 |
| United States | 153,527 | 158,537 | +5,010 |
| Germany | 124,486 | 30,197 | -94,289 |
| Ireland | 69,953 | 83,509 | +13,556 |
| Italy | 140,618 | 6,926 | -133,692 |
| Netherlands | 66,996 | 64,639 | -2,357 |
| Nigeria | 103,544 | 0 | -103,544 |
| Bulgaria | 46,979 | 33,621 | -13,358 |
| Spain | 37,189 | 21,892 | -15,297 |
| China | 21,605 | 31,307 | +9,702 |
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) | 929,458 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 754,163 |
| Air transport | 144,055 |
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) | 425,530 | 503,928 | +78,398 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 451,210 | 302,953 | -148,257 |
| Air transport | 84,324 | 59,731 | -24,593 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 500,524 |
| Grangemouth Docks | 316,650 |
| Liverpool Docks | 267,284 |
| Immingham Docks | 132,821 |
| London Gateway Port | 119,125 |
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 | 322,130 | 178,394 | -143,736 |
| Grangemouth Docks | 0 | 316,650 | +316,650 |
| Liverpool Docks | 122,947 | 144,337 | +21,390 |
| Immingham Docks | 97,160 | 35,661 | -61,499 |
| London Gateway Port | 109,493 | 9,632 | -99,861 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 51,953 | 37,528 | -14,425 |
| Holyhead | 38,867 | 45,284 | +6,417 |
| Heysham | 19,604 | 34,865 | +15,261 |
| Aberdeen Docks | 50,932 | 0 | -50,932 |
| Portsmouth | 39,407 | 0 | -39,407 |
Quick facts
HS code: 391231
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: A type of cellulose derivative used as a thickener or stabiliser in food and industrial products