Import/export HS code 3212: Pigments and dyes for paints and retail sale
Pigments, metallic powders, and dyes in liquid or paste form for making paints. Includes stamping foils and retail-packaged coloring products
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 | 20,859,659 |
| Netherlands | 12,016,885 |
| United States | 10,485,280 |
| China | 9,145,156 |
| Italy | 7,466,099 |
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 | 11,712,807 | 9,146,852 | -2,565,955 |
| Netherlands | 6,444,181 | 5,572,704 | -871,477 |
| United States | 5,684,400 | 4,800,880 | -883,520 |
| China | 4,087,733 | 5,057,423 | +969,690 |
| Italy | 4,180,215 | 3,285,884 | -894,331 |
| France | 3,558,652 | 3,027,521 | -531,131 |
| Malaysia | 2,653,264 | 1,801,158 | -852,106 |
| Austria | 1,499,081 | 2,941,741 | +1,442,660 |
| Sweden | 2,125,723 | 1,614,874 | -510,849 |
| South Korea | 1,649,110 | 1,701,068 | +51,958 |
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 | 20,165,753 |
| United States | 12,144,299 |
| Netherlands | 12,008,495 |
| China | 11,599,612 |
| Italy | 7,711,582 |
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 | 11,594,686 | 8,571,067 | -3,023,619 |
| United States | 6,453,685 | 5,690,614 | -763,071 |
| Netherlands | 6,557,461 | 5,451,034 | -1,106,427 |
| China | 5,412,162 | 6,187,450 | +775,288 |
| Italy | 4,273,662 | 3,437,920 | -835,742 |
| Austria | 1,544,090 | 3,266,410 | +1,722,320 |
| Malaysia | 2,703,399 | 1,954,149 | -749,250 |
| South Korea | 1,965,415 | 1,845,527 | -119,888 |
| Sweden | 1,980,858 | 1,571,977 | -408,881 |
| France | 1,641,734 | 1,293,917 | -347,817 |
Importers across UK regions
What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.
Top 5 values
| UK region | Companies |
|---|---|
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 28 |
| Greater Manchester | 24 |
| West Yorkshire | 16 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 13 |
| Shropshire and Staffordshire | 13 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 25 | 16 | -9 |
| Greater Manchester | 20 | 19 | -1 |
| West Yorkshire | 14 | 12 | -2 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 11 | 6 | -5 |
| Shropshire and Staffordshire | 12 | 7 | -5 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 9 | 10 | +1 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 9 | 9 | +0 |
| Inner London - West | 8 | 6 | -2 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 7 | 7 | +0 |
| East Central Scotland | 7 | 6 | -1 |
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) | 52,491,901 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 25,633,400 |
| Air transport | 16,227,797 |
| Other | 858,773 |
| Road transport | 387,789 |
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) | 28,348,054 | 24,143,847 | -4,204,207 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 13,708,842 | 11,924,558 | -1,784,284 |
| Air transport | 7,765,241 | 8,462,556 | +697,315 |
| Other | 509,538 | 349,235 | -160,303 |
| Road transport | 265,171 | 122,618 | -142,553 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Dover | 27,428,076 |
| Southampton | 11,691,566 |
| Immingham Docks | 10,749,694 |
| Eurotunnel | 6,975,995 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 5,990,059 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | 14,492,630 | 12,935,446 | -1,557,184 |
| Southampton | 6,551,216 | 5,140,350 | -1,410,866 |
| Immingham Docks | 5,506,238 | 5,243,456 | -262,782 |
| Eurotunnel | 3,643,769 | 3,332,226 | -311,543 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 3,156,638 | 2,833,421 | -323,217 |
| Thamesport | 2,754,351 | 2,081,164 | -673,187 |
| Felixstowe | 2,501,159 | 1,826,538 | -674,621 |
| London Stansted Airport | 856,982 | 1,843,925 | +986,943 |
| London | 1,076,784 | 1,409,973 | +333,189 |
| East Midlands Airport | 1,325,997 | 1,116,921 | -209,076 |
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 | 94 |
| Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products | 70 |
| Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 39 |
| Other manufacturing | 17 |
| Manufacture of rubber and plastic products | 13 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2026-01 | 79 |
| 2025-11 | 77 |
| 2025-10 | 82 |
| 2025-09 | 84 |
| 2025-08 | 73 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| SIGMA-ALDRICH COMPANY LIMITED | 117 |
| LIFE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED | 112 |
| INTERNATIONAL PAINT LIMITED | 106 |
| SILBERLINE LIMITED | 96 |
| SUN CHEMICAL LIMITED | 90 |
| FUJICHEM SONNEBORN LIMITED | 73 |
| PPG INDUSTRIES (UK) LIMITED | 70 |
| KYOCERA AVX COMPONENTS LIMITED | 68 |
| ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS LIMITED | 60 |
| BAXTER HEALTHCARE LIMITED | 57 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 1m-15m | 115 |
| 54m+ | 98 |
| 15m-54m | 38 |
| 0-1m | 36 |
| Other | 12 |
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 | 12,369,897 |
| Italy | 10,896,290 |
| Poland | 8,067,519 |
| France | 8,020,463 |
| China | 6,630,090 |
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 | 6,078,068 | 6,291,829 | +213,761 |
| Italy | 6,338,679 | 4,557,611 | -1,781,068 |
| Poland | 4,837,862 | 3,229,657 | -1,608,205 |
| France | 5,015,361 | 3,005,102 | -2,010,259 |
| China | 2,148,603 | 4,481,487 | +2,332,884 |
| Netherlands | 2,285,835 | 2,071,691 | -214,144 |
| Ireland | 2,448,114 | 1,831,095 | -617,019 |
| United States | 2,060,638 | 2,195,003 | +134,365 |
| Spain | 1,430,055 | 1,744,593 | +314,538 |
| Belgium | 1,269,768 | 910,699 | -359,069 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| Netherlands | 63,437 |
| XI | 37,483 |
| Ireland | 33,894 |
| New Zealand | 18,054 |
| Germany | 4,879 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 35,852 | 27,585 | -8,267 |
| XI | 11,126 | 26,357 | +15,231 |
| Ireland | 25,913 | 7,981 | -17,932 |
| New Zealand | 7,287 | 10,767 | +3,480 |
| Germany | 1,769 | 3,110 | +1,341 |
| Italy | 553 | 1,364 | +811 |
| France | 0 | 538 | +538 |
| Canada | 0 | 301 | +301 |
| Belgium | 28 | 89 | +61 |
| Denmark | 0 | 16 | +16 |
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) | 55,325,186 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 18,907,622 |
| Air transport | 17,718,408 |
| Other | 166,851 |
| Road transport | 64,925 |
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) | 30,403,689 | 24,921,497 | -5,482,192 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 10,311,917 | 8,595,705 | -1,716,212 |
| Air transport | 7,271,060 | 10,447,348 | +3,176,288 |
| Other | 86,086 | 80,765 | -5,321 |
| Road transport | 64,925 | 0 | -64,925 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 44,236,562 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 8,983,453 |
| Immingham Docks | 6,825,952 |
| London Gateway Port | 5,594,729 |
| Grangemouth Docks | 4,523,387 |
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 | 24,074,960 | 20,161,602 | -3,913,358 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 3,119,032 | 5,864,421 | +2,745,389 |
| Immingham Docks | 3,875,175 | 2,950,777 | -924,398 |
| London Gateway Port | 2,994,983 | 2,599,746 | -395,237 |
| Grangemouth Docks | 2,662,744 | 1,860,643 | -802,101 |
| East Midlands Airport | 1,673,032 | 1,845,577 | +172,545 |
| Southampton | 1,375,338 | 1,527,057 | +151,719 |
| Holyhead | 1,516,645 | 1,231,104 | -285,541 |
| ZLC | 1,038,005 | 1,374,612 | +336,607 |
| Felixstowe | 807,846 | 1,300,493 | +492,647 |
Related HS codes
What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.
Quick facts
HS code: 3212
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: Pigments, metallic powders, and dyes in liquid or paste form for making paints. Includes stamping foils and retail-packaged coloring products