Import/export HS code 4909: Greeting cards and postcards
Printed cards for personal messages, greetings, or announcements. Includes illustrated postcards and greeting cards, with or without envelopes or decorations
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 | 96,698,291 |
| China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | 7,318,897 |
| Netherlands | 3,984,482 |
| Viet Nam | 3,758,821 |
| India | 2,130,582 |
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 | 55,409,992 | 41,288,299 | -14,121,693 |
| China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | 2,348,345 | 4,970,552 | +2,622,207 |
| Netherlands | 2,327,084 | 1,657,398 | -669,686 |
| Viet Nam | 2,674,042 | 1,084,779 | -1,589,263 |
| India | 1,300,368 | 830,214 | -470,154 |
| United States | 902,756 | 989,912 | +87,156 |
| Italy | 688,336 | 671,539 | -16,797 |
| Poland | 396,525 | 652,598 | +256,073 |
| Germany | 660,889 | 378,374 | -282,515 |
| Ireland | 424,236 | 360,627 | -63,609 |
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 | 103,950,617 |
| Netherlands | 3,817,892 |
| Viet Nam | 3,664,229 |
| India | 2,231,797 |
| China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | 1,463,631 |
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 | 57,746,558 | 46,204,059 | -11,542,499 |
| Netherlands | 2,262,646 | 1,555,246 | -707,400 |
| Viet Nam | 2,516,518 | 1,147,711 | -1,368,807 |
| India | 1,314,721 | 917,076 | -397,645 |
| China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | 907,578 | 556,053 | -351,525 |
| United States | 548,766 | 569,238 | +20,472 |
| Poland | 394,748 | 653,408 | +258,660 |
| Germany | 352,541 | 313,806 | -38,735 |
| United Kingdom | 291,387 | 167,386 | -124,001 |
| Italy | 277,159 | 158,426 | -118,733 |
Importers across UK regions
What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.
Top 5 values
| UK region | Companies |
|---|---|
| Inner London - West | 106 |
| Inner London - East | 30 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 29 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 22 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 21 |
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 | 78 | 65 | -13 |
| Inner London - East | 23 | 17 | -6 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 19 | 17 | -2 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 13 | 17 | +4 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 15 | 16 | +1 |
| West Yorkshire | 17 | 15 | -2 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 14 | 8 | -6 |
| Greater Manchester | 7 | 9 | +2 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 11 | 6 | -5 |
| Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire | 7 | 9 | +2 |
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) | 102,570,558 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 10,036,900 |
| Air transport | 8,375,121 |
| Other | 2,194,080 |
| Road transport | 54,807 |
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) | 57,032,479 | 45,538,079 | -11,494,400 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 6,084,323 | 3,952,577 | -2,131,746 |
| Air transport | 4,567,792 | 3,807,329 | -760,463 |
| Other | 1,365,786 | 828,294 | -537,492 |
| Road transport | 6,078 | 48,729 | +42,651 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Felixstowe | 55,416,657 |
| Southampton | 31,535,993 |
| London Gateway Port | 11,586,954 |
| Liverpool Docks | 3,826,818 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 3,472,243 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Felixstowe | 32,954,924 | 22,461,733 | -10,493,191 |
| Southampton | 20,022,467 | 11,513,526 | -8,508,941 |
| London Gateway Port | 2,010,541 | 9,576,413 | +7,565,872 |
| Liverpool Docks | 1,932,092 | 1,894,726 | -37,366 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 1,882,051 | 1,590,192 | -291,859 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 1,623,628 | 1,397,975 | -225,653 |
| 000 | 1,365,786 | 828,294 | -537,492 |
| London | 1,571,360 | 560,111 | -1,011,249 |
| London Stansted Airport | 699,290 | 1,021,442 | +322,152 |
| East Midlands Airport | 714,746 | 576,927 | -137,819 |
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 | 164 |
| Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 131 |
| Office administrative, office support and other business support activities | 28 |
| Publishing activities | 28 |
| Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities | 18 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2026-01 | 72 |
| 2025-11 | 75 |
| 2025-10 | 91 |
| 2025-09 | 76 |
| 2025-08 | 74 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| UK GREETINGS LIMITED | 120 |
| IG DESIGN GROUP UK LIMITED | 118 |
| ABRAMS & CHRONICLE BOOKS LIMITED | 116 |
| TJX UK | 112 |
| CARTE BLANCHE GREETINGS LIMITED | 108 |
| SPORTSWIFT LIMITED | 107 |
| DANILO PROMOTIONS LIMITED | 106 |
| NEXT RETAIL LIMITED | 95 |
| TEAL PRESS LIMITED | 91 |
| SIMON ELVIN LIMITED | 86 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 1m-15m | 153 |
| 54m+ | 140 |
| 0-1m | 67 |
| Other | 53 |
| 15m-54m | 38 |
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 | 28,031,584 |
| Germany | 21,867,618 |
| United States | 11,958,679 |
| Australia | 8,479,669 |
| Netherlands | 6,105,465 |
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 | 14,924,807 | 13,106,777 | -1,818,030 |
| Germany | 11,415,297 | 10,452,321 | -962,976 |
| United States | 7,038,401 | 4,920,278 | -2,118,123 |
| Australia | 4,433,043 | 4,046,626 | -386,417 |
| Netherlands | 3,202,366 | 2,903,099 | -299,267 |
| France | 2,690,238 | 2,153,186 | -537,052 |
| Sweden | 2,110,790 | 1,179,834 | -930,956 |
| Spain | 1,444,940 | 1,204,966 | -239,974 |
| Canada | 1,442,636 | 1,090,773 | -351,863 |
| Austria | 1,362,877 | 1,155,524 | -207,353 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| China | 507,190 |
| Italy | 115,010 |
| Ireland | 45,498 |
| Viet Nam | 20,546 |
| China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | 9,589 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 247,312 | 259,878 | +12,566 |
| Italy | 65,320 | 49,690 | -15,630 |
| Ireland | 37,714 | 7,784 | -29,930 |
| Viet Nam | 8,362 | 12,184 | +3,822 |
| China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | 5,312 | 4,277 | -1,035 |
| XI | 1,826 | 2,340 | +514 |
| Turkey | 727 | 0 | -727 |
| South Korea | 224 | 107 | -117 |
| United States | 1 | 2 | +1 |
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) | 73,725,195 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 24,005,588 |
| Air transport | 16,183,530 |
| Other | 1,164,371 |
| Road transport | 128,907 |
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) | 40,117,994 | 33,607,201 | -6,510,793 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 13,654,817 | 10,350,771 | -3,304,046 |
| Air transport | 8,533,123 | 7,650,407 | -882,716 |
| Other | 696,918 | 467,453 | -229,465 |
| Road transport | 127,773 | 1,134 | -126,639 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 36,268,691 |
| Holyhead | 18,343,714 |
| London Gateway Port | 9,862,836 |
| Immingham Docks | 9,291,043 |
| Liverpool Docks | 7,328,983 |
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 | 19,525,028 | 16,743,663 | -2,781,365 |
| Holyhead | 9,156,620 | 9,187,094 | +30,474 |
| London Gateway Port | 6,216,874 | 3,645,962 | -2,570,912 |
| Immingham Docks | 5,453,348 | 3,837,695 | -1,615,653 |
| Liverpool Docks | 5,077,410 | 2,251,573 | -2,825,837 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 2,788,122 | 3,088,454 | +300,332 |
| East Midlands Airport | 3,036,753 | 2,607,030 | -429,723 |
| Felixstowe | 2,197,981 | 1,834,293 | -363,688 |
| Southampton | 1,433,947 | 2,317,202 | +883,255 |
| Heysham | 937,108 | 1,679,158 | +742,050 |
Quick facts
HS code: 4909
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: Printed cards for personal messages, greetings, or announcements. Includes illustrated postcards and greeting cards, with or without envelopes or decorations