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 18,130,768
Netherlands 8,678,845
Belgium 1,403,921
Spain 634,453
India 631,561

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 9,350,350 8,780,418 -569,932
Netherlands 4,747,097 3,931,748 -815,349
Belgium 875,425 528,496 -346,929
Spain 287,182 347,271 +60,089
India 121,644 509,917 +388,273
France 235,097 358,024 +122,927
Italy 371,128 189,192 -181,936
Germany 259,665 270,793 +11,128
Ireland 45,433 365,941 +320,508
United States 109,140 115,427 +6,287

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 17,296,599
Netherlands 5,473,664
Germany 1,483,846
Spain 1,342,998
Belgium 987,330

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 8,995,834 8,300,765 -695,069
Netherlands 3,242,743 2,230,921 -1,011,822
Germany 417,401 1,066,445 +649,044
Spain 834,407 508,591 -325,816
Belgium 466,548 520,782 +54,234
India 121,644 514,804 +393,160
Italy 243,079 193,377 -49,702
Malaysia 155,488 253,699 +98,211
United States 166,258 136,433 -29,825
Indonesia 180,654 86,643 -94,011

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
Merseyside 5
West Yorkshire 5
Shropshire and Staffordshire 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
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 4 6 +2
Inner London - West 5 4 -1
Merseyside 5 3 -2
West Yorkshire 4 4 +0
Shropshire and Staffordshire 3 4 +1
Cheshire 3 2 -1
Greater Manchester 2 3 +1
West Midlands 3 1 -2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 1 2 +1
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 1 2 +1

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) 16,185,008
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 11,376,772
Other 3,582,067
Air transport 1,150,121
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) 7,908,621 8,276,387 +367,766
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 6,237,079 5,139,693 -1,097,386
Other 1,870,034 1,712,033 -158,001
Air transport 648,229 501,892 -146,337
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 17,313,750
000 3,582,067
Eurotunnel 3,005,373
Dover 2,569,867
Harwich 1,624,953

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 8,593,557 8,720,193 +126,636
000 1,870,034 1,712,033 -158,001
Eurotunnel 1,605,145 1,400,228 -204,917
Dover 1,413,151 1,156,716 -256,435
Harwich 1,062,612 562,341 -500,271
Felixstowe 880,100 547,720 -332,380
London Gateway Port 143,626 545,019 +401,393
East Midlands Airport 352,544 203,071 -149,473
Hull 11,529 307,575 +296,046
Manchester Airport 163,116 88,312 -74,804

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 17
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 16
Manufacture of food products 16
Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products 3
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 2

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-04 15
2026-03 22
2026-02 20
2026-01 19
2025-12 17

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+ 32
1m-15m 16
15m-54m 10
0-1m 2
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 £
Belgium 5,598,725
Poland 588,819
Netherlands 151,128
Ireland 72,751
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 2,852,120 2,746,605 -105,515
Poland 167,737 421,082 +253,345
Netherlands 29,289 121,839 +92,550
Ireland 32,546 40,205 +7,659
Saudi Arabia 46,546 0 -46,546
France 11,201 16,680 +5,479
Taiwan 24,624 1,786 -22,838
Slovakia 11,424 14,732 +3,308
Cameroon 19,897 4,128 -15,769
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 24,612
XI 11,408
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 9,928 14,684 +4,756
XI 5,253 6,155 +902
United States 0 2,666 +2,666
Ireland 0 2,338 +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 £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,303,780
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 3,242,827
Air transport 103,864
Other 41,024

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 £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,070,571 2,233,209 +1,162,638
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,106,333 1,136,494 -969,839
Air transport 96,857 7,007 -89,850
Other 15,181 25,843 +10,662

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 5,955,979
Dover / Eurotunnel 276,184
Middlesbrough 106,322
Manchester Airport 46,546
Liverpool Docks 43,173

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 2,838,915 3,117,064 +278,149
Dover / Eurotunnel 172,082 104,102 -67,980
Middlesbrough 0 106,322 +106,322
Manchester Airport 46,546 0 -46,546
Liverpool Docks 43,173 0 -43,173
000 15,181 25,843 +10,662
London Gateway Port 34,273 6,213 -28,060
Southampton 27,455 4,399 -23,056
Felixstowe 21,940 2,918 -19,022
ZLC 19,152 3,335 -15,817

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