Import/export HS code 290544: Sorbitol (D-glucitol)

A sugar alcohol used in food and cosmetics

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 £
Germany 18,843,578
France 16,210,384
Belgium 3,500,010
China 1,757,313
Netherlands 1,006,133

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 £
Germany 9,376,059 9,467,519 +91,460
France 9,237,814 6,972,570 -2,265,244
Belgium 1,930,034 1,569,976 -360,058
China 553,046 1,204,267 +651,221
Netherlands 687,229 318,904 -368,325
Turkey 178,776 17,784 -160,992
United States 58,424 106,700 +48,276
Switzerland 90,046 58,228 -31,818
India 29,366 24,227 -5,139
Poland 47,703 4,060 -43,643

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 22,075,338
France 16,631,041
China 1,754,267
Belgium 949,612
United States 241,275

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 11,036,098 11,039,240 +3,142
France 9,482,027 7,149,014 -2,333,013
China 542,607 1,211,660 +669,053
Belgium 761,872 187,740 -574,132
United States 113,945 127,330 +13,385
Turkey 178,776 17,784 -160,992
India 49,454 29,173 -20,281
Czechia 3,631 2,112 -1,519
Italy 2,797 0 -2,797
Switzerland 0 2,225 +2,225

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Cheshire 4
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3
Inner London - West 3
West Yorkshire 3
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 2

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
Cheshire 4 2 -2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 2 3 +1
Inner London - West 2 2 +0
West Yorkshire 3 2 -1
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 1 2 +1
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 2 1 -1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 1 2 +1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 1 0 -1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 1 1 +0
East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 37,471,019
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 4,015,723
Air transport 301,681
Road transport 151,087
Other 40,821

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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 19,922,059 17,548,960 -2,373,099
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 2,023,088 1,992,635 -30,453
Air transport 136,190 165,491 +29,301
Road transport 91,895 59,192 -32,703
Other 23,355 17,466 -5,889

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 15,310,530
Dover / Eurotunnel 11,483,832
Dover 4,671,437
Hull 4,355,570
Killingholme 1,975,437

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 £
Immingham Docks 7,843,525 7,467,005 -376,520
Dover / Eurotunnel 6,764,092 4,719,740 -2,044,352
Dover 2,596,949 2,074,488 -522,461
Hull 2,589,521 1,766,049 -823,472
Killingholme 387,531 1,587,906 +1,200,375
Felixstowe 743,575 599,996 -143,579
Southampton 131,763 719,795 +588,032
London 494,674 206,697 -287,977
Eurotunnel 181,277 167,725 -13,552
Harwich 77,859 173,807 +95,948

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 12
Manufacture of food products 8
Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations 5
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 5
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 3

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 11
2025-11 8
2025-10 13
2025-09 8
2025-08 12

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+ 18
1m-15m 10
15m-54m 5
Other 1

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 304,575
Ireland 193,923
Malaysia 90,106
France 55,194
Italy 29,879

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 262,303 42,272 -220,031
Ireland 110,169 83,754 -26,415
Malaysia 0 90,106 +90,106
France 55,194 0 -55,194
Italy 29,879 0 -29,879
United Arab Emirates 10,655 0 -10,655
Sweden 1,720 5,121 +3,401
Saudi Arabia 4,152 2,644 -1,508
Canada 2,616 3,705 +1,089
Ghana 0 5,378 +5,378

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 4,853

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 2,644 2,209 -435

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) 587,120
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 111,320
Air transport 18,460
Other 4,853

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) 454,901 132,219 -322,682
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 12,131 99,189 +87,058
Air transport 10,806 7,654 -3,152
Other 2,644 2,209 -435

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 198,694
Holyhead 177,718
Immingham Docks 159,782
Southampton 45,053
Felixstowe 45,053

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 192,715 5,979 -186,736
Holyhead 96,173 81,545 -14,628
Immingham Docks 154,661 5,121 -149,540
Felixstowe 0 45,053 +45,053
Southampton 0 45,053 +45,053
Hull 0 39,574 +39,574
London Gateway Port 12,131 5,378 -6,753
Liverpool Docks 8,399 3,705 -4,694
London Stansted Airport 2,845 2,617 -228
London Heathrow Airport 2,676 2,644 -32

Related HS codes

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

Quick facts

HS code: 290544

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

Description: A sugar alcohol used in food and cosmetics