Import/export HS code 120740: Sesame seeds

Small seeds from the sesame plant, used in cooking and oil production

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 9,968,088
Guatemala 4,605,824
China 2,957,368
Turkey 1,145,079
Netherlands 1,041,754

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 5,412,097 4,555,991 -856,106
Guatemala 2,505,509 2,100,315 -405,194
China 1,513,139 1,444,229 -68,910
Turkey 674,436 470,643 -203,793
Netherlands 539,397 502,357 -37,040
France 472,280 558,584 +86,304
Pakistan 228,838 143,672 -85,166
Greece 221,456 98,688 -122,768
Belgium 149,570 125,494 -24,076
Germany 121,058 46,987 -74,071

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 10,053,632
Guatemala 4,949,186
China 3,062,281
Nigeria 1,179,867
Chad 1,034,011

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 5,516,981 4,536,651 -980,330
Guatemala 2,745,195 2,203,991 -541,204
China 1,564,652 1,497,629 -67,023
Nigeria 610,171 569,696 -40,475
Chad 614,226 419,785 -194,441
Pakistan 363,479 254,117 -109,362
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 168,760 186,270 +17,510
Greece 201,114 71,941 -129,173
Egypt 111,830 71,782 -40,048
Somalia 42,720 83,832 +41,112

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Outer London - West and North West 12
Outer London - East and North East 9
Greater Manchester 8
Inner London - East 8
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 8

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
Outer London - West and North West 9 8 -1
Outer London - East and North East 5 7 +2
Greater Manchester 6 7 +1
Inner London - East 6 6 +0
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 3 8 +5
West Midlands 6 6 +0
Inner London - West 4 5 +1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5 3 -2
Essex 4 4 +0
Outer London - South 4 3 -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) 19,996,906
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,701,203
Other 92,944
Air transport 21,455
Road transport 4,177

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) 11,022,886 8,974,020 -2,048,866
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,331,177 1,370,026 +38,849
Other 60,305 32,639 -27,666
Air transport 12,002 9,453 -2,549
Road transport 2,682 1,495 -1,187

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Gateway Port 9,436,294
Felixstowe 9,428,971
Southampton 1,527,869
Dover 787,675
Eurotunnel 456,401

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 £
London Gateway Port 4,595,819 4,840,475 +244,656
Felixstowe 5,861,962 3,567,009 -2,294,953
Southampton 951,446 576,423 -375,023
Dover 399,344 388,331 -11,013
Eurotunnel 205,437 250,964 +45,527
Harwich 181,522 214,590 +33,068
499 0 229,227 +229,227
Immingham Docks 55,850 129,352 +73,502
London 64,321 39,074 -25,247
000 60,305 32,639 -27,666

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
74
Manufacture of food products
20
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
16
Food and beverage service activities
10
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities
3

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-05 21
2026-04 17
2026-03 30
2026-02 25
2026-01 22

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 37
54m+ 29
0-1m 20
15m-54m 14
Other 4

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 £
Netherlands 571,541
Germany 443,075
Ireland 411,341
United States 113,978
Jordan 106,323

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 £
Netherlands 334,662 236,879 -97,783
Germany 389,449 53,626 -335,823
Ireland 228,749 182,592 -46,157
United States 113,978 0 -113,978
Jordan 106,323 0 -106,323
Iceland 75,395 30,372 -45,023
Poland 92,153 0 -92,153
France 10,773 79,440 +68,667
Sweden 0 59,287 +59,287
Spain 52,712 1,339 -51,373

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 115,377
China 14,409
Belgium 11,158
Bulgaria 4,900
Ireland 540

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 50,374 65,003 +14,629
China 4,776 9,633 +4,857
Belgium 1,107 10,051 +8,944
Bulgaria 3,342 1,558 -1,784
Ireland 180 360 +180
Japan 330 124 -206
India 0 389 +389

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) 1,442,148
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 430,809
Other 157,640
Air transport 94,165

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) 923,652 518,496 -405,156
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 370,139 60,670 -309,469
Other 68,121 89,519 +21,398
Air transport 92,183 1,982 -90,201

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 645,408
Dover / Eurotunnel 484,691
Harwich 183,835
000 157,640
London Gateway Port 132,902

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 £
Felixstowe 498,362 147,046 -351,316
Dover / Eurotunnel 258,033 226,658 -31,375
Harwich 125,614 58,221 -67,393
000 68,121 89,519 +21,398
London Gateway Port 131,619 1,283 -130,336
Liverpool Docks 78,892 47,521 -31,371
Immingham Docks 74,118 26,247 -47,871
Holyhead 67,053 23,667 -43,386
London Heathrow Airport 88,216 1,982 -86,234
Heysham 9,962 21,917 +11,955

Related HS codes

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

Quick facts

HS code: 120740

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

Description: Small seeds from the sesame plant, used in cooking and oil production