Import/export HS code 9704: Postage stamps and related items

Includes used or unused stamps, first-day covers, and stamped paper, except for those in heading 4907

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 £
Germany 4,092,737
France 3,676,575
Switzerland 3,496,405
Sweden 2,178,742
Czechia 2,170,411

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 £
Germany 528,608 3,564,129 +3,035,521
France 3,297,447 379,128 -2,918,319
Switzerland 2,179,469 1,316,936 -862,533
Sweden 17,647 2,161,095 +2,143,448
Czechia 11,410 2,159,001 +2,147,591
Australia 798,344 1,164,369 +366,025
United States 602,421 809,165 +206,744
Japan 67,513 1,274,302 +1,206,789
Italy 78,658 1,202,066 +1,123,408
Belgium 24,550 740,065 +715,515

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 £
United Kingdom 3,451,744
Switzerland 3,430,142
Germany 3,093,913
Sweden 2,173,712
Czechia 2,171,388

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 £
United Kingdom 3,211,406 240,338 -2,971,068
Switzerland 2,177,336 1,252,806 -924,530
Germany 482,015 2,611,898 +2,129,883
Sweden 16,768 2,156,944 +2,140,176
Czechia 11,410 2,159,978 +2,148,568
Australia 778,344 1,145,666 +367,322
Japan 68,948 1,265,930 +1,196,982
Italy 72,891 1,199,757 +1,126,866
United States 522,992 733,503 +210,511
Canada 14,388 1,055,414 +1,041,026

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 10
Inner London - East 3
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2
Essex 2
Greater Manchester 2

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 5 -1
Inner London - East 3 1 -2
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 1 1 +0
Essex 1 2 +1
Greater Manchester 1 1 +0
Highlands and Islands 2 2 +0
Outer London - West and North West 2 1 -1
Shropshire and Staffordshire 1 1 +0
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 1 1 +0
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 1 0 -1

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 23,459,532
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,550,952
Road transport 299,721
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 235,011
Other 15,752

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 7,171,093 16,288,439 +9,117,346
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,464,383 1,086,569 -377,814
Road transport 98,740 200,981 +102,241
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 138,609 96,402 -42,207
Other 14,762 990 -13,772

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Birmingham Airport 10,134,367
London Heathrow Airport 8,160,051
London Stansted Airport 2,975,119
London 1,707,642
East Midlands Airport 1,102,774

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 £
Birmingham Airport 444,072 9,690,295 +9,246,223
London Heathrow Airport 3,873,571 4,286,480 +412,909
London Stansted Airport 1,805,251 1,169,868 -635,383
London 1,088,847 618,795 -470,052
East Midlands Airport 635,617 467,157 -168,460
499 0 375,188 +375,188
Eurotunnel 100,709 239,616 +138,907
ZLC 98,740 200,981 +102,241
Dover 99,057 130,927 +31,870
London City Airport 169,129 32,248 -136,881

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 9
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 5
Manufacture of beverages 4
Other personal service activities 4
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 3

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 5
2025-10 1
2025-09 3
2025-08 2
2025-07 3

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
54m+ 16
1m-15m 8
0-1m 6
15m-54m 3
Other 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 States 9,261,673
Switzerland 8,257,352
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 4,879,517
South Korea 4,847,422
Germany 3,394,472

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 7,560,404 1,701,269 -5,859,135
Switzerland 6,503,506 1,753,846 -4,749,660
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 1,355,507 3,524,010 +2,168,503
South Korea 0 4,847,422 +4,847,422
Germany 210,754 3,183,718 +2,972,964
Denmark 2,272,502 281,687 -1,990,815
Czechia 112,130 2,314,588 +2,202,458
Sweden 2,000 2,105,291 +2,103,291
Uruguay 0 1,510,000 +1,510,000
France 820,288 409,093 -411,195

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 £
XI 636

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 £
XI 636 0 -636

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 49,860,534
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,616,267
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 96,670
Road transport 19,523
Other 636

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 21,348,339 28,512,195 +7,163,856
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 998,925 617,342 -381,583
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 80,013 16,657 -63,356
Road transport 19,523 0 -19,523
Other 636 0 -636

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Heathrow Airport 28,538,052
Birmingham Airport 12,877,043
London Stansted Airport 3,660,390
ZLC 2,412,739
East Midlands Airport 1,517,772

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 15,352,486 13,185,566 -2,166,920
Birmingham Airport 1,379,197 11,497,846 +10,118,649
London Stansted Airport 2,104,605 1,555,785 -548,820
ZLC 1,842,901 569,838 -1,273,063
East Midlands Airport 503,802 1,013,970 +510,168
London 739,760 0 -739,760
London Gatwick Airport 50,405 524,855 +474,450
Harwich 144,156 169,902 +25,746
Dover / Eurotunnel 47,670 240,689 +193,019
Immingham Docks 130,730 72,562 -58,168

Quick facts

HS code: 9704

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

Description: Includes used or unused stamps, first-day covers, and stamped paper, except for those in heading 4907