Import/export HS code 38249955: Glycerol fatty acid esters (emulsifiers)

Chemical compounds used as emulsifiers in food, cosmetics, and industrial applications

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 £
Denmark 17,358,052
Netherlands 8,302,846
Belgium 1,317,400
India 631,561
Spain 614,876

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 £
Denmark 9,273,993 8,084,059 -1,189,934
Netherlands 4,698,062 3,604,784 -1,093,278
Belgium 807,174 510,226 -296,948
India 183,449 448,112 +264,663
Spain 283,442 331,434 +47,992
France 258,243 334,593 +76,350
Germany 285,424 242,678 -42,746
Italy 319,883 205,403 -114,480
Ireland 147,632 259,595 +111,963
United States 78,640 122,308 +43,668

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 £
Denmark 16,515,991
Netherlands 5,105,606
Germany 1,533,880
Spain 1,260,913
Belgium 948,816

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 £
Denmark 8,856,868 7,659,123 -1,197,745
Netherlands 3,121,464 1,984,142 -1,137,322
Germany 505,432 1,028,448 +523,016
Spain 807,047 453,866 -353,181
Belgium 436,899 511,917 +75,018
India 188,336 448,112 +259,776
Italy 223,932 203,347 -20,585
Malaysia 165,343 254,835 +89,492
Indonesia 196,724 66,006 -130,718
United States 149,522 108,494 -41,028

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
Inner London - West 6
West Yorkshire 6
Shropshire and Staffordshire 4
Cheshire 3

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 4 6 +2
Inner London - West 5 4 -1
West Yorkshire 4 5 +1
Shropshire and Staffordshire 3 3 +0
Cheshire 3 2 -1
Greater Manchester 2 3 +1
Merseyside 3 3 +0
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 1 2 +1
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 1 2 +1
Outer London - South 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) 15,796,129
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 10,726,369
Other 3,527,645
Air transport 997,217
Road transport 11,642

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) 8,192,574 7,603,555 -589,019
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 5,927,119 4,799,250 -1,127,869
Other 1,990,323 1,537,322 -453,001
Air transport 517,255 479,962 -37,293
Road transport 0 11,642 +11,642

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 16,857,199
000 3,527,645
Eurotunnel 2,778,067
Dover 2,478,348
Harwich 1,458,334

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 8,817,224 8,039,975 -777,249
000 1,990,323 1,537,322 -453,001
Eurotunnel 1,526,006 1,252,061 -273,945
Dover 1,311,091 1,167,257 -143,834
Harwich 919,328 539,006 -380,322
Felixstowe 901,792 432,791 -469,001
London Gateway Port 205,431 502,575 +297,144
East Midlands Airport 239,533 192,787 -46,746
Hull 22,433 302,192 +279,759
Manchester Airport 156,484 89,597 -66,887

Importer companies by SIC division

What this shows: Industry breakdown (SIC divisions) of importing companies.

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of food products
15
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
15
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
14
Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products
3
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
3

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-05 20
2026-04 16
2026-03 23
2026-02 20
2026-01 19

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+ 29
1m-15m 14
15m-54m 10
0-1m 2
Other 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 5,175,782
Poland 547,725
Netherlands 151,128
Ireland 75,566
Saudi Arabia 46,546

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 2,873,730 2,302,052 -571,678
Poland 123,584 424,141 +300,557
Netherlands 29,289 121,839 +92,550
Ireland 36,696 38,870 +2,174
Saudi Arabia 46,546 0 -46,546
Slovakia 15,259 14,688 -571
France 11,201 17,582 +6,381
Taiwan 26,410 0 -26,410
Cameroon 24,025 0 -24,025
Turkey 21,940 0 -21,940

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 £
Denmark 23,850
XI 11,905
United States 2,666
Ireland 2,338

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 £
Denmark 9,166 14,684 +5,518
XI 5,253 6,652 +1,399
United States 0 2,666 +2,666
Ireland 2,338 0 -2,338

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) 3,046,561
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,038,101
Air transport 101,189
Other 41,159

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) 2,001,303 1,045,258 -956,045
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,167,943 1,870,158 +702,215
Air transport 99,640 1,549 -98,091
Other 16,757 24,402 +7,645

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 5,530,337
Dover / Eurotunnel 286,496
Middlesbrough 106,322
Manchester Airport 46,546
000 41,159

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 2,857,542 2,672,795 -184,747
Dover / Eurotunnel 175,917 110,579 -65,338
Middlesbrough 0 106,322 +106,322
Manchester Airport 46,546 0 -46,546
000 16,757 24,402 +7,645
London Gateway Port 36,088 3,148 -32,940
Southampton 30,286 1,568 -28,718
Felixstowe 21,940 2,918 -19,022
ZLC 20,938 1,549 -19,389
Heysham 11,975 9,101 -2,874

Quick facts

HS code: 38249955

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

Description: Chemical compounds used as emulsifiers in food, cosmetics, and industrial applications