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 693,976
Portugal 527,183
India 411,278
Netherlands 406,206
United States 386,232

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 597,446 96,530 -500,916
Portugal 364,632 162,551 -202,081
India 294,433 116,845 -177,588
Netherlands 374,027 32,179 -341,848
United States 304,473 81,759 -222,714
Italy 284,972 36,032 -248,940
Pakistan 87,919 123,625 +35,706
France 198,746 2,543 -196,203
Germany 172,384 24,099 -148,285
Czechia 141,311 5,279 -136,032

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 915,594
Portugal 531,374
India 412,694
United States 399,516
Italy 313,176

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 807,774 107,820 -699,954
Portugal 364,632 166,742 -197,890
India 295,849 116,845 -179,004
United States 321,972 77,544 -244,428
Italy 284,676 28,500 -256,176
Germany 205,017 25,919 -179,098
Pakistan 87,919 123,625 +35,706
France 182,093 1,516 -180,577
Czechia 142,621 5,279 -137,342
United Kingdom 111,470 19,682 -91,788

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 36
Outer London - West and North West 15
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 12
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 12
Inner London - East 12

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 32 7 -25
Outer London - West and North West 14 2 -12
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 12 0 -12
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 12 1 -11
Inner London - East 11 1 -10
Greater Manchester 9 2 -7
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 10 0 -10
Surrey, East and West Sussex 9 2 -7
West Midlands 7 2 -5
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 8 0 -8

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 2,601,490
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,178,915
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 385,647
Other 181,742
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 2,406,550 194,940 -2,211,610
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 747,238 431,677 -315,561
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 276,536 109,111 -167,425
Other 175,616 6,126 -169,490
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 1,289,525
London Heathrow Airport 850,248
Liverpool Docks 372,888
Felixstowe 289,169
London Gateway Port 267,873

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 1,210,890 78,635 -1,132,255
London Heathrow Airport 800,785 49,463 -751,322
Liverpool Docks 250,522 122,366 -128,156
Felixstowe 220,486 68,683 -151,803
London Gateway Port 112,877 154,996 +42,119
Southampton 145,267 91,588 -53,679
Birmingham Airport 202,979 23,029 -179,950
000 175,616 6,126 -169,490
London Stansted Airport 134,065 27,398 -106,667
Dover 70,797 22,804 -47,993

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 65
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 52
Other manufacturing 13
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 11
Other professional, scientific and technical activities 11

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 5
2025-11 4
2025-10 5
2025-09 3
2025-08 4

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 94
54m+ 81
15m-54m 27
0-1m 25
Other 12

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 1,262,512
United Arab Emirates 436,418
France 249,470
Germany 178,192
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 165,389

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 1,158,965 103,547 -1,055,418
United Arab Emirates 385,183 51,235 -333,948
France 151,073 98,397 -52,676
Germany 165,654 12,538 -153,116
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 157,415 7,974 -149,441
Saudi Arabia 55,535 109,293 +53,758
Ireland 135,580 28,349 -107,231
Italy 43,626 91,597 +47,971
Austria 128,121 0 -128,121
Sweden 79,944 30,000 -49,944

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 3,152,628
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 832,273
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 397,952
Road transport 1,076
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 2,764,875 387,753 -2,377,122
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 550,378 281,895 -268,483
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 227,222 170,730 -56,492
Road transport 1,076 0 -1,076
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 1,983,025
London Gateway Port 488,185
ZLC 436,177
London Heathrow Airport 373,531
London Stansted Airport 327,632

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 1,742,880 240,145 -1,502,735
London Gateway Port 247,657 240,528 -7,129
ZLC 368,441 67,736 -300,705
London Heathrow Airport 353,055 20,476 -332,579
London Stansted Airport 291,602 36,030 -255,572
Dover / Eurotunnel 115,535 97,467 -18,068
Felixstowe 195,322 10,000 -185,322
Dover 95,879 43,233 -52,646
Southampton 29,695 21,347 -8,348
Harwich 50,881 0 -50,881

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