Import/export HS code 340241: Cationic surface-active agents

Cleaning agents with a positive charge, used in fabric softeners and disinfectants

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 4,590,059
Netherlands 3,283,172
Germany 2,436,876
France 2,134,017
Belgium 1,353,907

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 2,669,487 1,920,572 -748,915
Netherlands 1,982,160 1,301,012 -681,148
Germany 1,695,633 741,243 -954,390
France 916,397 1,217,620 +301,223
Belgium 577,804 776,103 +198,299
Sweden 853,424 348,716 -504,708
Ireland 553,245 277,807 -275,438
South Korea 294,561 181,141 -113,420
United States 143,051 170,045 +26,994
Turkey 0 253,001 +253,001

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 5,338,738
Germany 4,694,085
France 2,240,099
United States 1,852,881
Sweden 1,208,307

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 3,154,068 2,184,670 -969,398
Germany 2,989,436 1,704,649 -1,284,787
France 1,090,336 1,149,763 +59,427
United States 804,368 1,048,513 +244,145
Sweden 856,340 351,967 -504,373
Ireland 507,431 263,521 -243,910
South Korea 296,950 189,709 -107,241
China 175,902 55,171 -120,731
Netherlands 62,180 115,191 +53,011
Italy 115,359 53,285 -62,074

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Yorkshire 12
Greater Manchester 11
Inner London - West 5
Surrey, East and West Sussex 5
East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 4

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
West Yorkshire 9 11 +2
Greater Manchester 7 10 +3
Inner London - West 1 5 +4
Surrey, East and West Sussex 2 4 +2
East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 4 4 +0
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 2 4 +2
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 3 1 -2
Cheshire 1 2 +1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 3 1 -2
Kent 3 1 -2

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) 13,872,099
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,325,144
Air transport 625,233
Other 170,246
Rail transport 68,342

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) 8,181,848 5,690,251 -2,491,597
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,743,988 1,581,156 -162,832
Air transport 365,408 259,825 -105,583
Other 112,629 57,617 -55,012
Rail transport 63,279 5,063 -58,216
Road transport 30,698 20,246 -10,452

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 4,861,206
Liverpool Docks 3,129,676
Dover 1,750,133
London 1,384,909
Middlesbrough 1,048,828

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 3,132,012 1,729,194 -1,402,818
Liverpool Docks 1,910,556 1,219,120 -691,436
Dover 1,065,987 684,146 -381,841
London 539,241 845,668 +306,427
Middlesbrough 600,201 448,627 -151,574
Felixstowe 581,020 446,739 -134,281
Killingholme 387,580 547,872 +160,292
Harwich 193,844 384,974 +191,130
Eurotunnel 196,922 250,148 +53,226
Dagenham 408,374 0 -408,374

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 37
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 32
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 5
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 5
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 4

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 20
2025-11 24
2025-10 22
2025-09 22
2025-08 18

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+ 35
1m-15m 31
0-1m 11
15m-54m 10
Other 5

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 2,235,285
Germany 1,435,861
India 1,241,723
Ireland 946,424
Japan 803,755

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 1,010,431 1,224,854 +214,423
Germany 864,393 571,468 -292,925
India 750,745 490,978 -259,767
Ireland 511,343 435,081 -76,262
Japan 410,165 393,590 -16,575
Colombia 278,453 247,770 -30,683
Turkey 248,246 242,942 -5,304
United States 370,799 120,288 -250,511
Netherlands 221,639 237,034 +15,395
France 130,696 309,207 +178,511

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 119,917
China 20,772
Spain 42
Belgium 18

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 84,021 35,896 -48,125
China 8,424 12,348 +3,924
Spain 42 0 -42
Belgium 18 0 -18

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) 7,100,012
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 5,197,947
Air transport 760,378
Other 145,621

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) 3,378,177 3,721,835 +343,658
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,184,318 2,013,629 -1,170,689
Air transport 431,765 328,613 -103,152
Other 93,525 52,096 -41,429

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 2,973,506
Immingham Docks 2,932,768
London Gateway Port 2,532,379
Felixstowe 1,326,408
Southampton 944,028

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 1,613,347 1,360,159 -253,188
Immingham Docks 1,304,685 1,628,083 +323,398
London Gateway Port 1,476,629 1,055,750 -420,879
Felixstowe 766,390 560,018 -206,372
Southampton 668,106 275,922 -392,184
London Heathrow Airport 280,527 176,010 -104,517
Liverpool Docks 222,292 129,638 -92,654
Hull 131,066 160,789 +29,723
Dover 47,825 226,278 +178,453
Holyhead 147,617 105,518 -42,099

Quick facts

HS code: 340241

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

Description: Cleaning agents with a positive charge, used in fabric softeners and disinfectants