Import/export HS code 490191: Dictionaries and encyclopaedias
Includes dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and their serial instalments
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| China | 986,083 |
| United States | 495,639 |
| Belgium | 416,347 |
| Estonia | 297,236 |
| Japan | 276,630 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 933,481 | 52,602 | -880,879 |
| United States | 344,371 | 151,268 | -193,103 |
| Belgium | 310,444 | 105,903 | -204,541 |
| Estonia | 297,236 | 0 | -297,236 |
| Japan | 251,940 | 24,690 | -227,250 |
| India | 142,281 | 40,346 | -101,935 |
| Netherlands | 40,882 | 133,846 | +92,964 |
| Italy | 98,532 | 26,003 | -72,529 |
| France | 71,537 | 25,880 | -45,657 |
| United Arab Emirates | 66,000 | 5,629 | -60,371 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| China | 1,037,844 |
| United States | 491,943 |
| United Kingdom | 421,259 |
| Estonia | 297,236 |
| Japan | 277,341 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 983,836 | 54,008 | -929,828 |
| United States | 346,289 | 145,654 | -200,635 |
| United Kingdom | 274,633 | 146,626 | -128,007 |
| Estonia | 297,236 | 0 | -297,236 |
| Japan | 251,940 | 25,401 | -226,539 |
| India | 142,281 | 40,346 | -101,935 |
| Belgium | 63,797 | 105,903 | +42,106 |
| Italy | 104,432 | 39,190 | -65,242 |
| France | 62,066 | 10,680 | -51,386 |
| United Arab Emirates | 66,000 | 2,248 | -63,752 |
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 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 3 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 3 |
| Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear | 3 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 3 |
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 | 5 | 4 | -1 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 1 | 2 | +1 |
| Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear | 3 | 1 | -2 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Essex | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Outer London - East and North East | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Outer London - South | 0 | 2 | +2 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 0 | 1 | +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) | 1,497,533 |
| Air transport | 977,379 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 844,207 |
| Other | 38,790 |
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) | 1,353,637 | 143,896 | -1,209,741 |
| Air transport | 655,907 | 321,472 | -334,435 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 680,175 | 164,032 | -516,143 |
| Other | 11,152 | 27,638 | +16,486 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Southampton | 1,041,954 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 423,871 |
| Eurotunnel | 402,596 |
| Dover | 313,727 |
| East Midlands Airport | 216,920 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton | 1,017,256 | 24,698 | -992,558 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 335,118 | 88,753 | -246,365 |
| Eurotunnel | 274,857 | 127,739 | -147,118 |
| Dover | 299,476 | 14,251 | -285,225 |
| East Midlands Airport | 103,813 | 113,107 | +9,294 |
| Felixstowe | 154,324 | 60,644 | -93,680 |
| London Stansted Airport | 117,690 | 82,723 | -34,967 |
| London Gateway Port | 81,383 | 10,620 | -70,763 |
| Immingham Docks | 78,671 | 0 | -78,671 |
| Leeds Bradford Airport | 72,591 | 2,842 | -69,749 |
Importer companies by SIC division
What this shows: Industry breakdown (SIC divisions) of importing companies.
Top 5 values
| SIC | Companies |
|---|---|
| Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 10 |
| Publishing activities | 9 |
| Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 9 |
| Office administrative, office support and other business support activities | 3 |
| Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis | 1 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2026-01 | 3 |
| 2025-11 | 3 |
| 2025-10 | 3 |
| 2025-09 | 3 |
| 2025-08 | 6 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| THE BOOK DEPOSITORY LIMITED | 48 |
| IMPRINT DIGITAL LIMITED | 42 |
| KOMATSU UK LIMITED | 41 |
| MONEYSAVERS LONDON LTD | 30 |
| BRISTOL LABORATORIES LIMITED | 28 |
| PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED | 25 |
| AMAZON EU S.A R.L. | 13 |
| GARDNERS BOOKS LIMITED | 13 |
| BLACKWELL UK LIMITED | 13 |
| W. & G. FOYLE LIMITED | 11 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 1m-15m | 14 |
| 54m+ | 12 |
| 15m-54m | 5 |
| Other | 5 |
| 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 | £ |
|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | 22,770,683 |
| China | 15,786,062 |
| India | 7,654,567 |
| Singapore | 6,494,338 |
| United States | 5,646,547 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | 2,148,453 | 20,622,230 | +18,473,777 |
| China | 5,240,994 | 10,545,068 | +5,304,074 |
| India | 3,356,034 | 4,298,533 | +942,499 |
| Singapore | 1,921,435 | 4,572,903 | +2,651,468 |
| United States | 3,062,671 | 2,583,876 | -478,795 |
| Qatar | 1,418,168 | 2,186,914 | +768,746 |
| Pakistan | 720,846 | 2,503,758 | +1,782,912 |
| Israel | 1,545,349 | 1,426,471 | -118,878 |
| Jordan | 1,102,362 | 1,707,294 | +604,932 |
| Indonesia | 1,148 | 2,629,251 | +2,628,103 |
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) | 50,241,161 |
| Air transport | 46,932,277 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 2,452,907 |
| Road transport | 13,091 |
| Other | 279 |
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) | 20,796,513 | 29,444,648 | +8,648,135 |
| Air transport | 8,038,155 | 38,894,122 | +30,855,967 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 1,461,409 | 991,498 | -469,911 |
| Road transport | 13,091 | 0 | -13,091 |
| Other | 121 | 158 | +37 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| London Heathrow Airport | 45,360,234 |
| London Gateway Port | 27,095,024 |
| Southampton | 16,728,827 |
| Felixstowe | 4,024,130 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 1,408,443 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Heathrow Airport | 7,542,369 | 37,817,865 | +30,275,496 |
| London Gateway Port | 11,442,206 | 15,652,818 | +4,210,612 |
| Southampton | 6,745,991 | 9,982,836 | +3,236,845 |
| Felixstowe | 1,802,669 | 2,221,461 | +418,792 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 771,343 | 637,100 | -134,243 |
| Liverpool Docks | 303,973 | 798,405 | +494,432 |
| London | 344,124 | 740,420 | +396,296 |
| Holyhead | 453,287 | 270,924 | -182,363 |
| East Midlands Airport | 293,183 | 263,147 | -30,036 |
| London Gatwick Airport | 0 | 508,626 | +508,626 |
Quick facts
HS code: 490191
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: Includes dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and their serial instalments