Import/export HS code 2501: Salt and sodium chloride
All types of salt, including table salt, denatured salt, and pure sodium chloride, even if mixed with water or anti-caking agents. Also includes seawater
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Spain | 10,472,424 |
| Netherlands | 5,984,039 |
| Germany | 4,781,030 |
| Belgium | 3,464,343 |
| Turkey | 3,462,995 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 7,313,515 | 3,158,909 | -4,154,606 |
| Netherlands | 3,495,067 | 2,488,972 | -1,006,095 |
| Germany | 4,487,890 | 293,140 | -4,194,750 |
| Belgium | 3,462,859 | 1,484 | -3,461,375 |
| Turkey | 3,429,011 | 33,984 | -3,395,027 |
| India | 2,210,453 | 1,169,155 | -1,041,298 |
| Ireland | 1,658,185 | 979,769 | -678,416 |
| Tunisia | 1,145,543 | 1,465,182 | +319,639 |
| France | 1,802,382 | 393,266 | -1,409,116 |
| Poland | 1,165,880 | 988,228 | -177,652 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Spain | 11,331,231 |
| Netherlands | 6,627,852 |
| India | 4,271,388 |
| Germany | 3,746,651 |
| Turkey | 3,720,419 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 8,112,800 | 3,218,431 | -4,894,369 |
| Netherlands | 4,470,380 | 2,157,472 | -2,312,908 |
| India | 2,687,486 | 1,583,902 | -1,103,584 |
| Germany | 3,422,899 | 323,752 | -3,099,147 |
| Turkey | 3,603,990 | 116,429 | -3,487,561 |
| Tunisia | 1,247,139 | 1,465,182 | +218,043 |
| Poland | 1,158,207 | 988,228 | -169,979 |
| France | 1,604,179 | 329,983 | -1,274,196 |
| Pakistan | 1,537,353 | 82,915 | -1,454,438 |
| Belgium | 1,132,499 | 297,566 | -834,933 |
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 | 66 |
| Outer London - East and North East | 45 |
| Inner London - East | 39 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 32 |
| Inner London - West | 32 |
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 | 45 | 53 | +8 |
| Outer London - East and North East | 32 | 36 | +4 |
| Inner London - East | 32 | 27 | -5 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 25 | 28 | +3 |
| Inner London - West | 19 | 25 | +6 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 21 | 27 | +6 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 24 | 24 | +0 |
| Greater Manchester | 22 | 18 | -4 |
| West Yorkshire | 23 | 18 | -5 |
| Outer London - South | 17 | 18 | +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) | 32,306,062 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 13,644,476 |
| Other | 2,454,070 |
| Air transport | 1,082,740 |
| Road transport | 1,888 |
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) | 23,582,594 | 8,723,468 | -14,859,126 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 10,922,053 | 2,722,423 | -8,199,630 |
| Other | 1,574,955 | 879,115 | -695,840 |
| Air transport | 775,794 | 306,946 | -468,848 |
| Road transport | 1,888 | 0 | -1,888 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Felixstowe | 6,659,586 |
| London | 6,453,708 |
| Immingham Docks | 3,969,555 |
| London Gateway Port | 3,741,943 |
| Liverpool Docks | 2,672,614 |
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 | 6,036,335 | 623,251 | -5,413,084 |
| London | 3,771,818 | 2,681,890 | -1,089,928 |
| Immingham Docks | 3,004,434 | 965,121 | -2,039,313 |
| London Gateway Port | 2,938,117 | 803,826 | -2,134,291 |
| Liverpool Docks | 2,644,271 | 28,343 | -2,615,928 |
| 000 | 1,574,955 | 879,115 | -695,840 |
| Harwich | 1,415,100 | 948,265 | -466,835 |
| Ayr Harbour | 1,355,265 | 993,004 | -362,261 |
| Dover | 2,120,067 | 219,142 | -1,900,925 |
| Southampton | 1,110,012 | 1,140,796 | +30,784 |
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 | 322 |
| Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 154 |
| Manufacture of food products | 84 |
| Food and beverage service activities | 34 |
| Office administrative, office support and other business support activities | 24 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2026-04 | 142 |
| 2026-03 | 148 |
| 2026-02 | 151 |
| 2026-01 | 151 |
| 2025-12 | 132 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| TJX UK | 121 |
| B & M RETAIL LIMITED | 120 |
| J.C. PEACOCK & CO., LIMITED | 119 |
| SIGMA-ALDRICH COMPANY LIMITED | 116 |
| MCCORMICK (UK) LIMITED | 116 |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE UK LIMITED | 104 |
| ASIAN TRADERS LIMITED | 92 |
| JJ FOOD SERVICE LIMITED | 92 |
| SALT EXPRESS LIMITED | 88 |
| ALAMGEER FOODS LIMITED | 87 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 1m-15m | 249 |
| 54m+ | 129 |
| 0-1m | 127 |
| 15m-54m | 60 |
| Other | 41 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Ireland | 43,058,957 |
| United States | 30,808,327 |
| Belgium | 27,682,770 |
| Netherlands | 8,123,984 |
| Spain | 7,356,827 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 22,372,986 | 20,685,971 | -1,687,015 |
| United States | 10,039,580 | 20,768,747 | +10,729,167 |
| Belgium | 15,228,332 | 12,454,438 | -2,773,894 |
| Netherlands | 4,094,530 | 4,029,454 | -65,076 |
| Spain | 3,417,451 | 3,939,376 | +521,925 |
| Australia | 2,692,351 | 2,914,083 | +221,732 |
| Denmark | 2,656,548 | 2,801,739 | +145,191 |
| Germany | 1,839,763 | 2,533,900 | +694,137 |
| France | 1,827,454 | 1,711,361 | -116,093 |
| Norway | 1,329,571 | 2,068,172 | +738,601 |
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 | 14,609,549 |
| Spain | 1,062,426 |
| Ireland | 114,638 |
| France | 61,896 |
| Viet Nam | 57,747 |
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 | 8,491,502 | 6,118,047 | -2,373,455 |
| Spain | 570,101 | 492,325 | -77,776 |
| Ireland | 83,633 | 31,005 | -52,628 |
| France | 36,985 | 24,911 | -12,074 |
| Viet Nam | 19,671 | 38,076 | +18,405 |
| Tunisia | 23,258 | 10,834 | -12,424 |
| Turkey | 11,995 | 12,101 | +106 |
| India | 19,334 | 3,657 | -15,677 |
| Italy | 13,597 | 6,988 | -6,609 |
| Poland | 15,184 | 1,480 | -13,704 |
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) | 87,950,142 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 63,376,451 |
| Other | 18,981,064 |
| Air transport | 1,981,020 |
| Road transport | 13,753 |
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) | 37,888,536 | 50,061,606 | +12,173,070 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 31,394,099 | 31,982,352 | +588,253 |
| Other | 10,720,303 | 8,260,761 | -2,459,542 |
| Air transport | 1,111,655 | 869,365 | -242,290 |
| Road transport | 13,753 | 0 | -13,753 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Liverpool Docks | 28,230,875 |
| Runcorn | 25,697,608 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 22,674,145 |
| Felixstowe | 19,085,593 |
| 000 | 18,981,064 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool Docks | 15,135,220 | 13,095,655 | -2,039,565 |
| Runcorn | 13,749,221 | 11,948,387 | -1,800,834 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 11,240,618 | 11,433,527 | +192,909 |
| Felixstowe | 3,126,371 | 15,959,222 | +12,832,851 |
| 000 | 10,720,303 | 8,260,761 | -2,459,542 |
| Immingham Docks | 7,314,290 | 7,902,698 | +588,408 |
| Southampton | 4,479,019 | 6,376,713 | +1,897,694 |
| London Gateway Port | 3,850,682 | 6,868,300 | +3,017,618 |
| Holyhead | 3,138,987 | 2,105,237 | -1,033,750 |
| Heysham | 2,882,795 | 1,166,849 | -1,715,946 |
Quick facts
HS code: 2501
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: All types of salt, including table salt, denatured salt, and pure sodium chloride, even if mixed with water or anti-caking agents. Also includes seawater