Import/export HS code 52010010: Bleached or absorbent cotton

Cotton that has been treated to make it white or more absorbent, often used in medical or cosmetic 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 £
China 585,690
Portugal 517,360
Netherlands 400,689
United States 312,133
India 308,909

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 473,856 111,834 -362,022
Portugal 330,523 186,837 -143,686
Netherlands 380,947 19,742 -361,205
United States 248,370 63,763 -184,607
India 196,131 112,778 -83,353
Italy 249,179 47,986 -201,193
Pakistan 156,630 39,160 -117,470
France 171,686 3,888 -167,798
Germany 139,969 22,804 -117,165
Czechia 145,356 0 -145,356

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 775,368
Portugal 521,551
United States 336,966
India 308,909
Italy 283,099

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 645,130 130,238 -514,892
Portugal 330,523 191,028 -139,495
United States 285,341 51,625 -233,716
India 196,131 112,778 -83,353
Italy 253,429 29,670 -223,759
Germany 175,568 22,804 -152,764
Pakistan 156,630 39,160 -117,470
France 146,446 4,772 -141,674
Czechia 147,900 0 -147,900
United Kingdom 90,973 15,079 -75,894

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 26
Outer London - West and North West 13
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 11
Inner London - East 11
Greater Manchester 9

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
Inner London - West 22 5 -17
Outer London - West and North West 12 2 -10
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 11 0 -11
Inner London - East 11 0 -11
Greater Manchester 9 2 -7
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 8 0 -8
Surrey, East and West Sussex 7 1 -6
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 7 1 -6
West Midlands 6 1 -5
Cheshire 5 1 -4

Import volume by transport

What this shows: Import value by transport mode used to bring goods into the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Air transport 1,981,861
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,132,625
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 369,989
Other 172,109
Road transport 5,895

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 £
Air transport 1,850,887 130,974 -1,719,913
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 693,699 438,926 -254,773
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 284,082 85,907 -198,175
Other 171,899 210 -171,689
Road transport 5,895 0 -5,895

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
East Midlands Airport 910,858
London Heathrow Airport 685,235
Liverpool Docks 364,505
London Gateway Port 259,944
Birmingham Airport 217,323

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 £
East Midlands Airport 854,971 55,887 -799,084
London Heathrow Airport 638,165 47,070 -591,095
Liverpool Docks 216,659 147,846 -68,813
London Gateway Port 201,497 58,447 -143,050
Birmingham Airport 212,548 4,775 -207,773
Felixstowe 154,833 60,810 -94,023
Southampton 119,457 90,467 -28,990
000 171,899 210 -171,689
Thamesport 48,303 68,953 +20,650
London Stansted Airport 92,320 8,372 -83,948

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
55
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
45
Other manufacturing
9
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.
8
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
7

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-05 1
2026-04 3
2026-03 3
2026-02 2
2026-01 5

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 76
54m+ 67
15m-54m 19
0-1m 18
Other 8

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 £
United States 1,116,963
United Arab Emirates 367,217
France 218,984
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 153,286
Saudi Arabia 152,559

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 £
United States 1,060,996 55,967 -1,005,029
United Arab Emirates 319,425 47,792 -271,633
France 118,986 99,998 -18,988
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 149,477 3,809 -145,668
Saudi Arabia 37,252 115,307 +78,055
Italy 76,492 53,271 -23,221
Germany 121,997 2,000 -119,997
Ireland 74,128 24,225 -49,903
Qatar 15,954 63,964 +48,010
Spain 76,573 2,726 -73,847

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 £
Ireland 34

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 £
Ireland 16 18 +2

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 2,391,486
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 711,566
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 389,569
Other 34

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 2,214,107 177,379 -2,036,728
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 429,833 281,733 -148,100
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 249,196 140,373 -108,823
Other 16 18 +2

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
East Midlands Airport 1,438,289
ZLC 403,996
London Gateway Port 400,063
London Stansted Airport 294,603
London Heathrow Airport 221,259

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 £
East Midlands Airport 1,309,028 129,261 -1,179,767
ZLC 385,422 18,574 -366,848
London Gateway Port 182,009 218,054 +36,045
London Stansted Airport 275,918 18,685 -257,233
London Heathrow Airport 212,108 9,151 -202,957
Felixstowe 194,322 18,500 -175,822
Dover / Eurotunnel 105,254 96,566 -8,688
Dover 115,686 16,995 -98,691
Southampton 29,930 22,646 -7,284
Liverpool Docks 15,360 30,419 +15,059

Related HS codes

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

Quick facts

HS code: 52010010

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

Description: Cotton that has been treated to make it white or more absorbent, often used in medical or cosmetic products