Import/export HS code 28051990: Various alkali metals

Other alkali metals not specifically listed, used in various industrial applications

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 £
United States 22,058,654
France 787,927
China 462,290
Germany 204,853
Netherlands 86,590

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 £
United States 13,261,860 8,796,794 -4,465,066
France 500,504 287,423 -213,081
China 15,402 446,888 +431,486
Germany 119,631 85,222 -34,409
Netherlands 31,837 54,753 +22,916
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 11,341 12,717 +1,376
Switzerland 2,233 7,072 +4,839
Belgium 5,121 1,100 -4,021
Luxembourg 0 5,066 +5,066
Japan 2,637 1,841 -796

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 States 22,046,709
France 786,625
China 580,291
Germany 214,886
Switzerland 9,305

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 States 13,259,810 8,786,899 -4,472,911
France 500,504 286,121 -214,383
China 61,688 518,603 +456,915
Germany 121,612 93,274 -28,338
Switzerland 2,233 7,072 +4,839
Luxembourg 0 5,066 +5,066
Japan 2,637 1,841 -796
United Kingdom 1,090 0 -1,090
Turkey 992 0 -992
Australia 0 951 +951

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 2
Shropshire and Staffordshire 2
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 1
East Central Scotland 1
Greater Manchester 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
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 2 1 -1
Shropshire and Staffordshire 1 2 +1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 1 1 +0
East Central Scotland 0 1 +1
Greater Manchester 1 1 +0
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 1 1 +0
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 1 1 +0
South East Wales 0 1 +1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 1 1 +0
West Central Scotland 1 1 +0

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) 22,243,167
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 845,826
Air transport 559,167
Road transport 2,233

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) 13,224,289 9,018,878 -4,205,411
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 502,214 343,612 -158,602
Air transport 221,830 337,337 +115,507
Road transport 2,233 0 -2,233

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Southampton 19,013,512
London Gateway Port 2,742,765
Felixstowe 540,113
Portsmouth 507,318
Glasgow Airport 186,437

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 10,487,598 8,525,914 -1,961,684
London Gateway Port 2,736,691 6,074 -2,730,617
Felixstowe 94,886 445,227 +350,341
Portsmouth 320,882 186,436 -134,446
Glasgow Airport 134,152 52,285 -81,867
Harwich 27,715 94,408 +66,693
Brize Norton 0 107,799 +107,799
London Stansted Airport 42,726 54,699 +11,973
Immingham Docks 0 67,555 +67,555
Mildenhall RAF Base 0 55,630 +55,630

Importer companies by SIC division

What this shows: Industry breakdown (SIC divisions) of importing companies.

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 3
Manufacture of electrical equipment 3
Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products 3
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 3
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 2

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 3
2025-11 4
2025-10 2
2025-09 2
2025-08 2

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+ 6
1m-15m 5
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 £
Germany 609,986
France 187,756
United States 126,175
Switzerland 85,462
Italy 76,698

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 £
Germany 337,613 272,373 -65,240
France 63,158 124,598 +61,440
United States 7,260 118,915 +111,655
Switzerland 44,349 41,113 -3,236
Italy 39,792 36,906 -2,886
Belgium 34,526 14,000 -20,526
Philippines 43,119 5,353 -37,766
Ireland 1,444 30,835 +29,391
Australia 4,670 16,036 +11,366
India 10,153 10,377 +224

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 £
United States 529

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 £
United States 252 277 +25

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) 935,669
Air transport 238,688
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 161,729
Other 529

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) 474,822 460,847 -13,975
Air transport 74,293 164,395 +90,102
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 75,704 86,025 +10,321
Other 252 277 +25

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 451,636
Hull 330,040
London Stansted Airport 195,368
Immingham Docks 111,177
Southampton 66,425

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 £
Dover / Eurotunnel 319,088 132,548 -186,540
Hull 61,461 268,579 +207,118
London Stansted Airport 49,894 145,474 +95,580
Immingham Docks 95,740 15,437 -80,303
Southampton 1,639 64,786 +63,147
Grangemouth Docks 43,119 9,738 -33,381
Dover 14,108 26,130 +12,022
Holyhead 0 26,343 +26,343
ZLC 13,217 7,624 -5,593
London Heathrow Airport 984 11,297 +10,313

Quick facts

HS code: 28051990

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

Description: Other alkali metals not specifically listed, used in various industrial applications