Import/export HS code 4502: Natural cork, prepared or shaped

Natural cork that has been processed, such as debacked, roughly squared, or cut into blocks, plates, sheets, or strips. Includes sharp-edged blanks for making corks or stoppers

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 £
China 558,059
Portugal 26,083
Italy 10,426
India 9,558
Poland 7,767

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 £
China 293,082 264,977 -28,105
Portugal 5,799 20,284 +14,485
Italy 6,150 4,276 -1,874
India 9,558 0 -9,558
Poland 0 7,767 +7,767
Germany 3,210 1,185 -2,025
United States 3,366 0 -3,366
Ireland 87 0 -87

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 £
China 559,542
Portugal 20,284
Italy 16,225
India 9,558
Poland 7,752

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 £
China 294,565 264,977 -29,588
Portugal 0 20,284 +20,284
Italy 11,949 4,276 -7,673
India 9,558 0 -9,558
Poland 0 7,752 +7,752
Germany 3,210 1,171 -2,039
United Kingdom 1,883 0 -1,883

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 2
Greater Manchester 2
Lincolnshire 2
Surrey, East and West Sussex 2
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 1

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
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 2 1 -1
Greater Manchester 2 2 +0
Lincolnshire 2 1 -1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 1 1 +0
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 0 1 +1
East Central Scotland 1 1 +0
Inner London - East 1 1 +0
Inner London - West 1 0 -1
Merseyside 0 1 +1
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 0 1 +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) 562,601
Air transport 35,490
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 21,534
Other 116

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) 289,634 272,967 -16,667
Air transport 25,732 9,758 -15,974
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 5,799 15,735 +9,936
Other 87 29 -58

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Southampton 201,917
London Gateway Port 179,534
Felixstowe 174,099
London Stansted Airport 20,863
Newhaven 15,735

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 £
Southampton 152,858 49,059 -103,799
London Gateway Port 29,514 150,020 +120,506
Felixstowe 107,262 66,837 -40,425
London Stansted Airport 16,314 4,549 -11,765
Newhaven 0 15,735 +15,735
East Midlands Airport 8,020 1,920 -6,100
Dover 5,799 0 -5,799
Thamesport 0 5,508 +5,508
London Heathrow Airport 0 2,118 +2,118
Liverpool Docks 0 1,543 +1,543

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
7
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
4
Other manufacturing
3
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities
2
Advertising and market research
1

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-05 2
2026-02 4
2026-01 2
2025-12 2
2025-11 2

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 12
54m+ 6
0-1m 1
15m-54m 1
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 £
Canada 206,390
Austria 37,577
United States 22,255
Netherlands 21,808
Germany 10,080

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 £
Canada 202,665 3,725 -198,940
Austria 37,577 0 -37,577
United States 9,129 13,126 +3,997
Netherlands 8,291 13,517 +5,226
Germany 10,080 0 -10,080
Poland 7,037 1,120 -5,917
Switzerland 2,518 1,719 -799
India 3,380 0 -3,380
Philippines 3,350 0 -3,350
Italy 3,007 0 -3,007

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 £
China 27
XI 4

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 £
China 27 0 -27
XI 0 4 +4

Export volume by transport

What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Air transport 256,107
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 71,019
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 4,154
Other 31

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 £
Air transport 234,598 21,509 -213,089
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 56,767 14,252 -42,515
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,122 3,032 +1,910
Other 27 4 -23

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
ZLC 230,519
Eurotunnel 37,577
Felixstowe 21,808
Dover / Eurotunnel 11,899
London Stansted Airport 11,743

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 £
ZLC 218,683 11,836 -206,847
Eurotunnel 37,577 0 -37,577
Felixstowe 8,291 13,517 +5,226
Dover / Eurotunnel 10,899 1,000 -9,899
London Stansted Airport 6,671 5,072 -1,599
London Heathrow Airport 2,987 4,601 +1,614
East Midlands Airport 4,564 0 -4,564
Manchester Airport 1,693 0 -1,693
Holyhead 0 1,647 +1,647
London Gateway Port 1,122 0 -1,122

Quick facts

HS code: 4502

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

Description: Natural cork that has been processed, such as debacked, roughly squared, or cut into blocks, plates, sheets, or strips. Includes sharp-edged blanks for making corks or stoppers