Import/export HS code 52010010: Bleached or absorbent cotton

Cotton that has been treated to make it white or more absorbent, often used in medical or cosmetic 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 £
China 722,847
Portugal 672,826
India 463,614
Netherlands 406,715
United States 391,343

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 444,342 278,505 -165,837
Portugal 442,004 230,822 -211,182
India 326,578 137,036 -189,542
Netherlands 168,663 238,052 +69,389
United States 230,602 160,741 -69,861
Italy 268,500 50,782 -217,718
Pakistan 42,896 172,821 +129,925
France 174,777 26,512 -148,265
Germany 156,912 39,571 -117,341
Czechia 20,765 125,825 +105,060

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 965,984
Portugal 675,525
India 465,030
United States 385,616
Italy 311,454

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 650,054 315,930 -334,124
Portugal 440,512 235,013 -205,499
India 327,994 137,036 -190,958
United States 174,248 211,368 +37,120
Italy 267,091 44,363 -222,728
Germany 88,695 142,241 +53,546
Pakistan 42,896 172,821 +129,925
France 175,849 7,760 -168,089
Czechia 22,075 125,825 +103,750
United Kingdom 106,531 25,518 -81,013

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 35
Outer London - West and North West 16
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 15
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 14
Inner London - East 10

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 25 12 -13
Outer London - West and North West 10 6 -4
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 11 4 -7
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 14 2 -12
Inner London - East 8 3 -5
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 7 4 -3
Surrey, East and West Sussex 8 3 -5
West Midlands 7 3 -4
Greater Manchester 7 4 -3
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 8 1 -7

Import volume by transport

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

Top 5 values

Transport £
Air transport 2,689,984
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,271,537
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 431,974
Other 213,094
Road transport 5,895

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 £
Air transport 1,795,260 894,724 -900,536
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 692,998 578,539 -114,459
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 307,508 124,466 -183,042
Other 164,289 48,805 -115,484
Road transport 0 5,895 +5,895

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
East Midlands Airport 1,340,955
London Heathrow Airport 888,530
Liverpool Docks 460,610
Felixstowe 300,518
London Gateway Port 285,701

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 £
East Midlands Airport 1,053,541 287,414 -766,127
London Heathrow Airport 559,825 328,705 -231,120
Liverpool Docks 328,184 132,426 -195,758
Felixstowe 195,373 105,145 -90,228
London Gateway Port 92,919 192,782 +99,863
Southampton 122,050 114,805 -7,245
Birmingham Airport 34,689 191,319 +156,630
000 164,289 48,805 -115,484
London Stansted Airport 114,885 44,370 -70,515
Thamesport 72,260 40,921 -31,339

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 68
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 52
Other manufacturing 13
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 11
Other professional, scientific and technical activities 11

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 4
2025-10 5
2025-09 3
2025-08 4
2025-07 4

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
1m-15m 95
54m+ 84
15m-54m 28
0-1m 24
Other 12

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 States 1,262,617
United Arab Emirates 429,345
France 306,451
Austria 195,621
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 194,473

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 States 1,133,019 129,598 -1,003,421
United Arab Emirates 217,189 212,156 -5,033
France 150,764 155,687 +4,923
Austria 195,621 0 -195,621
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 185,252 9,221 -176,031
Germany 157,707 36,443 -121,264
Ireland 141,659 29,882 -111,777
Saudi Arabia 55,535 109,293 +53,758
Italy 42,351 92,872 +50,521
Sweden 48,342 61,602 +13,260

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 £
Ireland 34

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 £
Ireland 16 18 +2

Export volume by transport

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

Top 5 values

Transport £
Air transport 3,415,800
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 830,814
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 409,457
Road transport 1,076
Other 34

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 £
Air transport 2,792,543 623,257 -2,169,286
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 349,773 481,041 +131,268
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 211,203 198,254 -12,949
Road transport 1,076 0 -1,076
Other 16 18 +2

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
East Midlands Airport 2,152,401
London Gateway Port 477,685
London Heathrow Airport 466,997
ZLC 436,177
London Stansted Airport 325,946

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 £
East Midlands Airport 1,832,332 320,069 -1,512,263
London Gateway Port 217,194 260,491 +43,297
London Heathrow Airport 444,021 22,976 -421,045
ZLC 243,023 193,154 -49,869
London Stansted Airport 263,459 62,487 -200,972
Dover / Eurotunnel 113,736 103,159 -10,577
Felixstowe 37,519 173,000 +135,481
Dover 67,614 71,498 +3,884
Southampton 24,909 26,133 +1,224
Harwich 50,881 0 -50,881

Related HS codes

What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.

Quick facts

HS code: 52010010

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

Description: Cotton that has been treated to make it white or more absorbent, often used in medical or cosmetic products