Import/export HS code 0508: Coral, shells, and similar materials

Unworked or simply prepared coral, shells, and cuttlebone, including powder and waste. Used for decoration, jewelry, or crafts

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 2,578,665
Netherlands 1,767,609
Philippines 360,314
France 183,749
Viet Nam 120,673

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 1,199,165 1,379,500 +180,335
Netherlands 881,207 886,402 +5,195
Philippines 184,683 175,631 -9,052
France 161,923 21,826 -140,097
Viet Nam 110,713 9,960 -100,753
Denmark 25,600 73,036 +47,436
Ireland 51,854 34,668 -17,186
Belgium 32,738 44,402 +11,664
Chile 31,617 0 -31,617
Sweden 9,332 14,250 +4,918

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 2,573,689
Netherlands 1,707,674
Philippines 371,171
Denmark 150,063
Viet Nam 120,338

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 1,213,268 1,360,421 +147,153
Netherlands 846,312 861,362 +15,050
Philippines 175,258 195,913 +20,655
Denmark 73,122 76,941 +3,819
Viet Nam 110,378 9,960 -100,418
India 28,350 54,839 +26,489
France 65,599 11,551 -54,048
Belgium 31,751 38,203 +6,452
Chile 31,617 0 -31,617
Austria 28,323 0 -28,323

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - East 3
Greater Manchester 1
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 1
Inner London - West 1
Kent 1

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 - East 3 1 -2
Greater Manchester 1 0 -1
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 1 0 -1
Inner London - West 1 0 -1
Kent 1 1 +0
Lancashire 0 1 +1
North Eastern Scotland 0 1 +1
North Yorkshire 1 0 -1
Outer London - South 0 1 +1
Outer London - West and North West 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 £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,303,980
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,999,120
Other 78,766
Air transport 20,877
Road transport 1,414

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) 1,613,262 1,690,718 +77,456
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,048,759 950,361 -98,398
Other 51,938 26,828 -25,110
Air transport 9,862 11,015 +1,153
Road transport 1,414 0 -1,414

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 2,406,199
Immingham Docks 1,419,429
Southampton 671,876
Harwich 187,764
Dover 183,693

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 1,065,506 1,340,693 +275,187
Immingham Docks 722,057 697,372 -24,685
Southampton 455,846 216,030 -239,816
Harwich 81,803 105,961 +24,158
Dover 103,004 80,689 -22,315
London 58,228 79,058 +20,830
Middlesbrough 22,950 60,799 +37,849
000 51,938 26,828 -25,110
Eurotunnel 55,986 10,959 -45,027
London Gateway Port 31,617 15,997 -15,620

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 9
Food and beverage service activities 2
Manufacture of food products 2
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 1
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 1

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-04 1
2026-02 1
2026-01 1
2025-12 2
2025-11 1

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 5
54m+ 4
0-1m 2
15m-54m 2

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 £
France 5,715,749
China 1,000,888
Spain 793,679
Belgium 595,083
Italy 455,753

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 £
France 2,714,298 3,001,451 +287,153
China 258,360 742,528 +484,168
Spain 357,787 435,892 +78,105
Belgium 352,452 242,631 -109,821
Italy 244,750 211,003 -33,747
United States 28,457 12,996 -15,461
Netherlands 5,700 30,553 +24,853
Ireland 7,574 13,028 +5,454
Australia 0 18,505 +18,505
Denmark 7,812 7,812 +0

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 £
Thailand 6,079
Germany 2,201
India 368
United States 132

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 £
Thailand 3,406 2,673 -733
Germany 870 1,331 +461
India 368 0 -368
United States 88 44 -44

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) 7,620,913
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,072,832
Air transport 11,471
Other 8,780

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) 3,686,238 3,934,675 +248,437
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 299,096 773,736 +474,640
Air transport 7,531 3,940 -3,591
Other 4,732 4,048 -684

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Portsmouth 5,125,860
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,842,782
Felixstowe 971,375
Dover 508,091
Eurotunnel 132,021

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 £
Portsmouth 2,466,475 2,659,385 +192,910
Dover / Eurotunnel 951,278 891,504 -59,774
Felixstowe 252,290 719,085 +466,795
Dover 197,377 310,714 +113,337
Eurotunnel 67,669 64,352 -3,317
Southampton 15,855 29,983 +14,128
London Gateway Port 16,946 23,348 +6,402
Tyne 10,070 0 -10,070
000 4,732 4,048 -684
Holyhead 2,582 3,380 +798

Quick facts

HS code: 0508

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

Description: Unworked or simply prepared coral, shells, and cuttlebone, including powder and waste. Used for decoration, jewelry, or crafts