Import/export HS code 3606: Fire-starting alloys and combustible materials

Includes ferro-cerium and other fire-starting alloys, as well as items made from combustible materials like lighter flints and similar 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 £
Ireland 10,702,580
Netherlands 8,040,181
Turkey 4,166,627
China 2,249,129
Poland 2,089,715

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 £
Ireland 4,045,158 6,657,422 +2,612,264
Netherlands 3,834,173 4,206,008 +371,835
Turkey 1,996,915 2,169,712 +172,797
China 1,236,336 1,012,793 -223,543
Poland 1,158,240 931,475 -226,765
Romania 1,164,622 670,872 -493,750
Germany 633,641 659,002 +25,361
United States 807,334 95,294 -712,040
Czechia 608,228 125,268 -482,960
Philippines 430,665 214,870 -215,795

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 £
Ireland 7,154,477
Netherlands 6,965,150
Turkey 4,070,948
China 2,590,859
Poland 2,583,947

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 £
Ireland 2,315,666 4,838,811 +2,523,145
Netherlands 3,539,240 3,425,910 -113,330
Turkey 1,996,915 2,074,033 +77,118
China 1,471,052 1,119,807 -351,245
Poland 1,234,503 1,349,444 +114,941
Romania 1,181,830 795,366 -386,464
United States 1,026,314 153,358 -872,956
Czechia 608,228 127,863 -480,365
Philippines 430,665 214,870 -215,795
United Arab Emirates 281,299 250,016 -31,283

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 6
Greater Manchester 6
West Yorkshire 6
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 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
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 5 4 -1
Greater Manchester 5 3 -2
West Yorkshire 5 2 -3
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 5 3 -2
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 5 3 -2
Outer London - West and North West 4 3 -1
Kent 3 2 -1
West Midlands 4 3 -1
Lancashire 3 0 -3
Shropshire and Staffordshire 0 3 +3

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) 20,256,665
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 11,033,265
Other 4,263,913
Air transport 129,986

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) 9,374,879 10,881,786 +1,506,907
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 5,926,068 5,107,197 -818,871
Other 1,945,924 2,317,989 +372,065
Air transport 65,404 64,582 -822

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 7,185,098
Felixstowe 6,585,281
Liverpool Docks 4,926,475
000 4,263,913
Dover 3,855,325

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 3,469,227 3,715,871 +246,644
Felixstowe 3,287,150 3,298,131 +10,981
Liverpool Docks 1,072,880 3,853,595 +2,780,715
000 1,945,924 2,317,989 +372,065
Dover 2,344,286 1,511,039 -833,247
Holyhead 1,371,745 384,211 -987,534
Southampton 1,103,268 443,724 -659,544
Harwich 466,413 428,143 -38,270
Heysham 67,544 677,572 +610,028
Thamesport 382,489 353,631 -28,858

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
42
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
14
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
6
Manufacture of rubber and plastic products
4
Other manufacturing
4

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-05 13
2026-04 8
2026-03 10
2026-02 15
2026-01 8

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
1m-15m 35
54m+ 19
15m-54m 13
Other 5
0-1m 3

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 £
Italy 10,207,837
Spain 6,802,692
Netherlands 5,970,620
Australia 4,559,645
Germany 4,384,491

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 £
Italy 5,312,607 4,895,230 -417,377
Spain 3,745,442 3,057,250 -688,192
Netherlands 3,223,502 2,747,118 -476,384
Australia 2,450,288 2,109,357 -340,931
Germany 2,247,331 2,137,160 -110,171
Portugal 2,030,624 1,745,530 -285,094
United States 2,126,826 958,966 -1,167,860
Saudi Arabia 1,713,815 1,256,331 -457,484
France 1,287,815 1,212,823 -74,992
New Zealand 955,712 1,076,428 +120,716

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 245,402
Ireland 217,209
XI 6,126
United Arab Emirates 2,369
China 7

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 7,850 237,552 +229,702
Ireland 120,127 97,082 -23,045
XI 5,211 915 -4,296
United Arab Emirates 2,369 0 -2,369
China 7 0 -7
Turkey 7 0 -7

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) 35,936,325
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 18,322,953
Other 504,307
Air transport 408,900
Rail transport 9,415

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) 18,946,751 16,989,574 -1,957,177
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 10,337,049 7,985,904 -2,351,145
Other 152,293 352,014 +199,721
Air transport 216,355 192,545 -23,810
Rail transport 9,415 0 -9,415

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 19,280,665
Dover / Eurotunnel 15,149,545
London Gateway Port 7,005,759
Southampton 4,796,374
Liverpool Docks 2,091,484

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 £
Immingham Docks 9,583,811 9,696,854 +113,043
Dover / Eurotunnel 8,203,024 6,946,521 -1,256,503
London Gateway Port 3,537,310 3,468,449 -68,861
Southampton 3,204,906 1,591,468 -1,613,438
Liverpool Docks 810,270 1,281,214 +470,944
Felixstowe 1,000,115 250,844 -749,271
Middlesbrough 495,533 622,372 +126,839
Eurotunnel 576,023 276,811 -299,212
Newhaven 649,657 178,693 -470,964
000 152,293 352,014 +199,721

Related HS codes

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

Quick facts

HS code: 3606

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

Description: Includes ferro-cerium and other fire-starting alloys, as well as items made from combustible materials like lighter flints and similar products