Import/export HS code 520931: Plain weave lightweight cotton fabric

Light and airy plain weave cotton fabric, ideal for summer clothing

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 £
India 3,600,168
Pakistan 797,092
China 738,234
Italy 497,561
Switzerland 442,063

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 £
India 1,503,863 2,096,305 +592,442
Pakistan 628,846 168,246 -460,600
China 469,311 268,923 -200,388
Italy 341,363 156,198 -185,165
Switzerland 236,772 205,291 -31,481
Spain 172,788 133,716 -39,072
Japan 59,026 242,968 +183,942
Netherlands 163,807 87,415 -76,392
Turkey 133,931 101,352 -32,579
Germany 15,672 91,355 +75,683

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 £
India 3,600,589
Pakistan 889,610
China 789,353
Italy 541,030
Switzerland 394,587

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 £
India 1,476,103 2,124,486 +648,383
Pakistan 720,079 169,531 -550,548
China 512,137 277,216 -234,921
Italy 383,018 158,012 -225,006
Switzerland 236,772 157,815 -78,957
Spain 172,345 134,729 -37,616
Japan 59,026 242,753 +183,727
Turkey 174,087 101,352 -72,735
Germany 23,226 143,004 +119,778
Netherlands 12,274 64,710 +52,436

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 18
Greater Manchester 11
West Yorkshire 8
Inner London - East 7
Lancashire 7

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 13 15 +2
Greater Manchester 8 9 +1
West Yorkshire 5 6 +1
Inner London - East 5 5 +0
Lancashire 5 6 +1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 5 3 -2
West Midlands 4 1 -3
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3 4 +1
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 3 2 -1
Outer London - East and North East 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 £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 4,478,110
Air transport 1,629,310
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,103,310
Road transport 222,485
Other 2,852

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) 2,289,616 2,188,494 -101,122
Air transport 735,801 893,509 +157,708
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 664,451 438,859 -225,592
Road transport 120,033 102,452 -17,581
Other 2,852 0 -2,852

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Southampton 2,506,294
Felixstowe 1,319,308
London Heathrow Airport 801,089
London Gateway Port 496,079
Dover 481,923

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 1,090,354 1,415,940 +325,586
Felixstowe 1,017,389 301,919 -715,470
London Heathrow Airport 305,098 495,991 +190,893
London Gateway Port 106,927 389,152 +282,225
Dover 311,289 170,634 -140,655
Eurotunnel 188,621 126,246 -62,375
Manchester Airport 151,955 153,799 +1,844
ZLC 120,033 106,687 -13,346
East Midlands Airport 123,527 73,417 -50,110
London Stansted Airport 82,613 86,541 +3,928

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 44
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 27
Manufacture of textiles 10
Manufacture of wearing apparel 8
Other manufacturing 5

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 24
2025-10 22
2025-09 22
2025-08 13
2025-07 25

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 48
0-1m 22
54m+ 14
15m-54m 11
Other 5

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 £
India 358,081
United States 302,166
Indonesia 266,709
China 222,272
France 203,135

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 £
India 134,650 223,431 +88,781
United States 189,389 112,777 -76,612
Indonesia 266,709 0 -266,709
China 83,531 138,741 +55,210
France 99,632 103,503 +3,871
Sweden 87,151 38,362 -48,789
Portugal 56,612 54,774 -1,838
Romania 70,979 26,245 -44,734
Italy 45,249 30,008 -15,241
Viet Nam 11,683 54,551 +42,868

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 1,303,984
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 686,674
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 546,376
Road transport 11,881

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 682,978 621,006 -61,972
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 428,720 257,954 -170,766
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 413,018 133,358 -279,660
Road transport 11,881 0 -11,881

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 534,705
Manchester Airport 389,096
London Heathrow Airport 347,273
Southampton 311,689
East Midlands Airport 276,706

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 340,670 194,035 -146,635
Manchester Airport 130,604 258,492 +127,888
London Heathrow Airport 260,393 86,880 -173,513
Southampton 215,246 96,443 -118,803
East Midlands Airport 156,571 120,135 -36,436
ZLC 70,692 91,518 +20,826
London Stansted Airport 73,135 63,981 -9,154
Dover 66,532 44,129 -22,403
London Gateway Port 60,318 28,926 -31,392
Liverpool Docks 71,666 2,838 -68,828

Quick facts

HS code: 520931

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

Description: Light and airy plain weave cotton fabric, ideal for summer clothing