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 17,183,041
Netherlands 8,159,057
Belgium 1,279,709
Spain 624,414
Italy 592,718

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 10,053,833 7,129,208 -2,924,625
Netherlands 4,554,183 3,604,874 -949,309
Belgium 802,846 476,863 -325,983
Spain 378,886 245,528 -133,358
Italy 334,248 258,470 -75,778
Germany 277,338 226,810 -50,528
India 0 503,099 +503,099
France 244,707 221,409 -23,298
Ireland 53,511 289,300 +235,789
Indonesia 0 155,009 +155,009

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 16,349,346
Netherlands 5,312,052
Germany 1,325,642
Spain 1,320,723
Belgium 885,587

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 9,647,742 6,701,604 -2,946,138
Netherlands 3,091,428 2,220,624 -870,804
Germany 355,236 970,406 +615,170
Spain 887,987 432,736 -455,251
Belgium 460,097 425,490 -34,607
India 0 507,986 +507,986
Italy 236,842 181,854 -54,988
Malaysia 155,488 175,744 +20,256
Indonesia 106,090 156,280 +50,190
United States 116,110 130,675 +14,565

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
Greater Manchester 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 5 +1
Inner London - West 5 4 -1
Merseyside 5 3 -2
West Yorkshire 4 4 +0
Greater Manchester 3 3 +0
Shropshire and Staffordshire 3 4 +1
Cheshire 3 2 -1
West Midlands 1 2 +1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 2 2 +0
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) 14,757,775
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 11,032,787
Other 3,279,552
Air transport 1,151,570
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) 7,948,081 6,809,694 -1,138,387
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 6,293,882 4,738,905 -1,554,977
Other 1,845,660 1,433,892 -411,768
Air transport 829,770 321,800 -507,970
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 16,043,593
000 3,279,552
Eurotunnel 2,964,442
Dover 2,404,638
Harwich 1,623,434

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 8,855,424 7,188,169 -1,667,255
000 1,845,660 1,433,892 -411,768
Eurotunnel 1,655,934 1,308,508 -347,426
Dover 1,433,124 971,514 -461,610
Harwich 1,042,468 580,966 -461,502
Felixstowe 835,381 573,673 -261,708
London Gateway Port 0 550,567 +550,567
East Midlands Airport 394,463 112,201 -282,262
Manchester Airport 369,058 37,485 -331,573
Hull 8,865 223,963 +215,098

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 18
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 17
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
2026-01 19
2025-11 21
2025-10 20
2025-09 17
2025-08 13

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+ 31
1m-15m 18
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 5,483,786
Poland 261,068
Netherlands 93,880
Ireland 69,354
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 3,090,702 2,393,084 -697,618
Poland 167,737 93,331 -74,406
Netherlands 5,506 88,374 +82,868
Ireland 21,860 47,494 +25,634
Saudi Arabia 46,546 0 -46,546
Taiwan 44,496 1,786 -42,710
Norway 19,165 5,391 -13,774
Cameroon 19,897 4,128 -15,769
Slovakia 10,960 11,603 +643
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 24,073
XI 9,657
United States 2,665
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 6,961 17,112 +10,151
XI 6,911 2,746 -4,165
United States 0 2,665 +2,665
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) 3,342,230
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,698,426
Air transport 109,307
Other 38,733

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) 1,471,348 1,870,882 +399,534
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,946,340 752,086 -1,194,254
Air transport 87,009 22,298 -64,711
Other 13,872 24,861 +10,989

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 5,516,339
Dover / Eurotunnel 187,464
Middlesbrough 106,322
Southampton 51,726
Manchester Airport 46,546

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 3,066,700 2,449,639 -617,061
Dover / Eurotunnel 172,458 15,006 -157,452
Middlesbrough 0 106,322 +106,322
Southampton 47,327 4,399 -42,928
Manchester Airport 46,546 0 -46,546
Liverpool Docks 43,173 0 -43,173
London Gateway Port 31,316 7,728 -23,588
000 13,872 24,861 +10,989
Felixstowe 21,940 2,918 -19,022
East Midlands Airport 20,117 3,672 -16,445

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