Import/export HS code 121221: Food-grade products
Products fit for human consumption, such as edible plants and algae
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 | 7,270,145 |
| South Korea | 4,178,575 |
| United States | 1,397,237 |
| Iceland | 1,170,720 |
| Japan | 1,033,729 |
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 | 3,150,878 | 4,119,267 | +968,389 |
| South Korea | 2,495,264 | 1,683,311 | -811,953 |
| United States | 391,598 | 1,005,639 | +614,041 |
| Iceland | 630,979 | 539,741 | -91,238 |
| Japan | 663,264 | 370,465 | -292,799 |
| Philippines | 179,328 | 658,276 | +478,948 |
| Taiwan | 721,412 | 113,756 | -607,656 |
| Ireland | 282,001 | 272,754 | -9,247 |
| Australia | 284,261 | 198,372 | -85,889 |
| Belgium | 199,633 | 248,628 | +48,995 |
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 | 7,482,909 |
| South Korea | 4,613,657 |
| United States | 1,323,225 |
| Iceland | 1,170,889 |
| Japan | 1,085,669 |
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 | 3,310,986 | 4,171,923 | +860,937 |
| South Korea | 2,673,330 | 1,940,327 | -733,003 |
| United States | 381,413 | 941,812 | +560,399 |
| Iceland | 631,148 | 539,741 | -91,407 |
| Japan | 682,281 | 403,388 | -278,893 |
| Philippines | 293,158 | 736,484 | +443,326 |
| Taiwan | 725,389 | 111,856 | -613,533 |
| Australia | 284,261 | 198,372 | -85,889 |
| Ireland | 188,486 | 193,072 | +4,586 |
| France | 191,405 | 93,644 | -97,761 |
Importers across UK regions
What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.
Top 5 values
| UK region | Companies |
|---|---|
| Inner London - East | 13 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 13 |
| Inner London - West | 9 |
| Outer London - South | 8 |
| Outer London - East and North East | 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 - East | 11 | 11 | +0 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 12 | 10 | -2 |
| Inner London - West | 7 | 7 | +0 |
| Outer London - South | 7 | 8 | +1 |
| Outer London - East and North East | 5 | 6 | +1 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 5 | 3 | -2 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| Essex | 4 | 4 | +0 |
| Kent | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| South East Wales | 1 | 3 | +2 |
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) | 15,192,411 |
| Air transport | 3,138,179 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 1,689,087 |
| Other | 591,911 |
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) | 7,343,083 | 7,849,328 | +506,245 |
| Air transport | 1,522,441 | 1,615,738 | +93,297 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 1,083,704 | 605,383 | -478,321 |
| Other | 415,445 | 176,466 | -238,979 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Southampton | 7,396,307 |
| Felixstowe | 4,593,942 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 2,296,436 |
| Sharpness Docks | 1,101,120 |
| Liverpool Docks | 958,200 |
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 | 3,976,824 | 3,419,483 | -557,341 |
| Felixstowe | 1,721,726 | 2,872,216 | +1,150,490 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 1,107,861 | 1,188,575 | +80,714 |
| Sharpness Docks | 599,479 | 501,641 | -97,838 |
| Liverpool Docks | 498,864 | 459,336 | -39,528 |
| London | 421,835 | 323,498 | -98,337 |
| 000 | 415,445 | 176,466 | -238,979 |
| Dover | 167,929 | 145,673 | -22,256 |
| Holyhead | 150,647 | 148,581 | -2,066 |
| Harwich | 170,982 | 110,603 | -60,379 |
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
|
71 |
|
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
|
30 |
|
Manufacture of food products
|
17 |
|
Food and beverage service activities
|
8 |
|
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities
|
4 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2026-05 | 28 |
| 2026-04 | 31 |
| 2026-03 | 27 |
| 2026-02 | 30 |
| 2026-01 | 21 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| TAZAKI FOODS LIMITED | 123 |
| H MART EUROPE LIMITED | 118 |
| INTERLINK DIRECT LIMITED | 117 |
| KOREA FOODS COMPANY LIMITED | 105 |
| JFC (UK) LIMITED | 89 |
| CAMBRIDGE COMMODITIES LIMITED | 70 |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE UK LIMITED | 67 |
| NEW WORLD IMPORTS (UK) LTD | 59 |
| THE BASIC INGREDIENTS LTD | 55 |
| FORTUNE FOODS UK LTD | 51 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 1m-15m | 60 |
| 54m+ | 23 |
| 15m-54m | 22 |
| 0-1m | 12 |
| 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 | £ |
|---|---|
| United States | 4,697,587 |
| Netherlands | 779,653 |
| Russia | 684,347 |
| Germany | 535,848 |
| Kenya | 509,089 |
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 | 2,587,606 | 2,109,981 | -477,625 |
| Netherlands | 362,988 | 416,665 | +53,677 |
| Russia | 351,449 | 332,898 | -18,551 |
| Germany | 321,512 | 214,336 | -107,176 |
| Kenya | 271,364 | 237,725 | -33,639 |
| France | 124,246 | 369,631 | +245,385 |
| Pakistan | 209,201 | 145,498 | -63,703 |
| Denmark | 157,742 | 169,651 | +11,909 |
| Sweden | 207,833 | 71,530 | -136,303 |
| Ireland | 177,913 | 93,555 | -84,358 |
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 | 396 |
| Japan | 186 |
| Nicaragua | 150 |
| South Korea | 86 |
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 | 198 | 198 | +0 |
| Japan | 0 | 186 | +186 |
| Nicaragua | 150 | 0 | -150 |
| South Korea | 0 | 86 | +86 |
Export volume by transport
What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.
Top 5 values
| Transport | £ |
|---|---|
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 5,882,065 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 4,698,822 |
| Air transport | 1,832,706 |
| Road transport | 891 |
| Other | 818 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 2,788,295 | 3,093,770 | +305,475 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 2,613,257 | 2,085,565 | -527,692 |
| Air transport | 1,317,328 | 515,378 | -801,950 |
| Road transport | 891 | 0 | -891 |
| Other | 348 | 470 | +122 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Southampton | 4,108,192 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 3,231,161 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 1,212,851 |
| London Gateway Port | 1,191,397 |
| Immingham Docks | 570,416 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton | 1,967,258 | 2,140,934 | +173,676 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 1,791,568 | 1,439,593 | -351,975 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 919,891 | 292,960 | -626,931 |
| London Gateway Port | 611,343 | 580,054 | -31,289 |
| Immingham Docks | 372,013 | 198,403 | -173,610 |
| Dover | 203,664 | 198,654 | -5,010 |
| East Midlands Airport | 200,271 | 144,748 | -55,523 |
| Jersey | 0 | 214,385 | +214,385 |
| Holyhead | 108,603 | 65,061 | -43,542 |
| ZLC | 126,837 | 36,631 | -90,206 |
Quick facts
HS code: 121221
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: Products fit for human consumption, such as edible plants and algae