Import/export HS code 290532: Propylene glycol (propane-1,2-diol)
A chemical used in food, cosmetics, and antifreeze
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Netherlands | 24,557,500 |
| Germany | 23,179,197 |
| China | 4,014,937 |
| Belgium | 3,513,590 |
| South Korea | 1,741,322 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 12,994,839 | 11,562,661 | -1,432,178 |
| Germany | 13,897,362 | 9,281,835 | -4,615,527 |
| China | 1,377,000 | 2,637,937 | +1,260,937 |
| Belgium | 1,610,413 | 1,903,177 | +292,764 |
| South Korea | 974,844 | 766,478 | -208,366 |
| France | 440,025 | 423,086 | -16,939 |
| Spain | 186,418 | 195,084 | +8,666 |
| Ireland | 244,545 | 127,695 | -116,850 |
| United States | 260,246 | 85,730 | -174,516 |
| Niger | 55,526 | 156,897 | +101,371 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Germany | 24,249,505 |
| Netherlands | 22,058,409 |
| China | 5,371,271 |
| South Korea | 2,344,371 |
| United States | 1,430,234 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 15,435,763 | 8,813,742 | -6,622,021 |
| Netherlands | 10,927,606 | 11,130,803 | +203,197 |
| China | 1,441,175 | 3,930,096 | +2,488,921 |
| South Korea | 1,174,883 | 1,169,488 | -5,395 |
| United States | 1,190,022 | 240,212 | -949,810 |
| Spain | 508,762 | 889,878 | +381,116 |
| France | 613,168 | 223,539 | -389,629 |
| Belgium | 456,170 | 261,489 | -194,681 |
| Italy | 145,431 | 204,680 | +59,249 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0 | 221,180 | +221,180 |
Importers across UK regions
What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.
Top 5 values
| UK region | Companies |
|---|---|
| Greater Manchester | 9 |
| East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire | 6 |
| West Yorkshire | 6 |
| Inner London - West | 5 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 5 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Manchester | 6 | 8 | +2 |
| East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire | 5 | 4 | -1 |
| West Yorkshire | 3 | 6 | +3 |
| Inner London - West | 2 | 4 | +2 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 3 | 2 | -1 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| Essex | 3 | 4 | +1 |
| Merseyside | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset | 3 | 4 | +1 |
| Cheshire | 2 | 2 | +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) | 32,516,976 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 26,283,428 |
| Other | 880,433 |
| Air transport | 263,440 |
| Road transport | 1,861 |
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) | 20,224,379 | 12,292,597 | -7,931,782 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 11,519,485 | 14,763,943 | +3,244,458 |
| Other | 476,984 | 403,449 | -73,535 |
| Air transport | 177,366 | 86,074 | -91,292 |
| Road transport | 0 | 1,861 | +1,861 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Immingham Docks | 21,150,973 |
| Middlesbrough | 11,679,039 |
| Tyne | 8,266,993 |
| London | 6,595,248 |
| Felixstowe | 4,304,074 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immingham Docks | 11,087,192 | 10,063,781 | -1,023,411 |
| Middlesbrough | 6,479,105 | 5,199,934 | -1,279,171 |
| Tyne | 5,495,488 | 2,771,505 | -2,723,983 |
| London | 3,542,768 | 3,052,480 | -490,288 |
| Felixstowe | 1,834,913 | 2,469,161 | +634,248 |
| Hull | 1,651,839 | 1,107,292 | -544,547 |
| Dover | 888,300 | 1,078,689 | +190,389 |
| 000 | 476,984 | 403,449 | -73,535 |
| 499 | 0 | 705,194 | +705,194 |
| Eurotunnel | 102,659 | 277,945 | +175,286 |
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
|
32 |
|
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
|
26 |
|
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities
|
7 |
|
Manufacture of food products
|
7 |
|
Other manufacturing
|
4 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2026-05 | 21 |
| 2026-04 | 16 |
| 2026-03 | 17 |
| 2026-02 | 17 |
| 2026-01 | 17 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| WHITMAN LABORATORIES LIMITED | 74 |
| SIGMA-ALDRICH COMPANY LIMITED | 59 |
| SOLVENTIS LTD. | 54 |
| TILLEY DISTRIBUTION UK LIMITED | 54 |
| BASF PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY | 52 |
| TENNANTS DISTRIBUTION LIMITED | 40 |
| FRANK WRIGHT LIMITED | 39 |
| OQEMA LIMITED | 35 |
| MONARCH CHEMICALS LIMITED | 31 |
| HAYMAN GROUP LTD | 30 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 54m+ | 43 |
| 1m-15m | 21 |
| 15m-54m | 11 |
| Other | 6 |
| 0-1m | 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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Belgium | 1,164,939 |
| Ireland | 890,729 |
| Denmark | 554,695 |
| Germany | 532,220 |
| France | 453,172 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 511,708 | 653,231 | +141,523 |
| Ireland | 441,076 | 449,653 | +8,577 |
| Denmark | 512,588 | 42,107 | -470,481 |
| Germany | 129,941 | 402,279 | +272,338 |
| France | 216,511 | 236,661 | +20,150 |
| Sweden | 222,952 | 226,770 | +3,818 |
| Spain | 65,773 | 196,643 | +130,870 |
| United States | 122,633 | 72,810 | -49,823 |
| Netherlands | 12,618 | 139,173 | +126,555 |
| Australia | 38,975 | 92,405 | +53,430 |
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 | 146,216 |
| Germany | 75,820 |
| France | 25,632 |
| Netherlands | 4,701 |
| China | 2,279 |
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 | 53,639 | 92,577 | +38,938 |
| Germany | 6,835 | 68,985 | +62,150 |
| France | 25,632 | 0 | -25,632 |
| Netherlands | 4,701 | 0 | -4,701 |
| China | 0 | 2,279 | +2,279 |
| Spain | 1,584 | 0 | -1,584 |
| United States | 212 | 0 | -212 |
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) | 3,955,203 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 1,201,618 |
| Air transport | 376,927 |
| Other | 261,495 |
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) | 1,791,490 | 2,163,713 | +372,223 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 658,720 | 542,898 | -115,822 |
| Air transport | 206,916 | 170,011 | -36,905 |
| Other | 93,400 | 168,095 | +74,695 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Middlesbrough | 1,364,071 |
| Immingham Docks | 1,287,442 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 868,613 |
| Heysham | 323,352 |
| London Gateway Port | 312,271 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesbrough | 497,433 | 866,638 | +369,205 |
| Immingham Docks | 786,242 | 501,200 | -285,042 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 339,833 | 528,780 | +188,947 |
| Heysham | 178,280 | 145,072 | -33,208 |
| London Gateway Port | 170,127 | 142,144 | -27,983 |
| 000 | 93,400 | 168,095 | +74,695 |
| Liverpool Docks | 136,986 | 111,303 | -25,683 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 132,404 | 105,036 | -27,368 |
| Southampton | 73,635 | 76,022 | +2,387 |
| Dover | 73,735 | 63,943 | -9,792 |
Quick facts
HS code: 290532
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: A chemical used in food, cosmetics, and antifreeze