Import/export HS code 5206: Cotton yarn (not sewing thread), less than 85% cotton, not for retail sale

Cotton yarn used for weaving or knitting, not sold in small packages for individual use. Contains less than 85% cotton by weight

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 £
Spain 4,342,217
Pakistan 3,510,490
Italy 3,039,071
Turkey 1,170,719
Belgium 214,038

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 £
Spain 2,232,710 2,109,507 -123,203
Pakistan 1,796,511 1,713,979 -82,532
Italy 1,470,056 1,569,015 +98,959
Turkey 687,495 483,224 -204,271
Belgium 106,841 107,197 +356
Poland 50,693 54,777 +4,084
China 14,150 50,504 +36,354
France 13,400 46,852 +33,452
India 37,107 13,825 -23,282
Indonesia 25,405 22,912 -2,493

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 £
Spain 4,460,972
Pakistan 3,530,895
Italy 3,117,222
Turkey 1,216,873
Belgium 84,350

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 £
Spain 2,265,398 2,195,574 -69,824
Pakistan 1,806,778 1,724,117 -82,661
Italy 1,485,597 1,631,625 +146,028
Turkey 710,185 506,688 -203,497
Belgium 84,350 0 -84,350
China 15,018 52,294 +37,276
Indonesia 35,804 22,912 -12,892
India 37,107 20,668 -16,439
Poland 35,203 14,587 -20,616
Taiwan 8,428 0 -8,428

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Yorkshire 7
Greater Manchester 6
Lancashire 5
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 4
Cheshire 2

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
West Yorkshire 4 7 +3
Greater Manchester 6 3 -3
Lancashire 4 4 +0
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 1 3 +2
Cheshire 1 2 +1
Essex 1 2 +1
Inner London - East 2 0 -2
Cumbria 1 1 +0
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 1 1 +0
East Central Scotland 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) 8,668,587
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 3,678,128
Air transport 317,961
Road transport 10,841
Other 666

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) 4,100,793 4,567,794 +467,001
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,134,732 1,543,396 -591,336
Air transport 246,029 71,932 -174,097
Road transport 6,714 4,127 -2,587
Other 24 642 +618

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Southampton 2,615,907
Dover 2,584,741
Liverpool Docks 1,599,976
Killingholme 1,330,438
Felixstowe 1,203,907

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 1,326,143 1,289,764 -36,379
Dover 1,366,174 1,218,567 -147,607
Liverpool Docks 851,901 748,075 -103,826
Killingholme 83,515 1,246,923 +1,163,408
Felixstowe 757,983 445,924 -312,059
Immingham Docks 875,071 107,285 -767,786
London Gateway Port 318,263 586,145 +267,882
Eurotunnel 415,874 267,439 -148,435
Leeds Bradford Airport 162,470 35,398 -127,072
Dover / Eurotunnel 131,872 12,694 -119,178

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of textiles 19
Manufacture of wearing apparel 6
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 6
Other manufacturing 4
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 4

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-04 11
2026-03 12
2026-02 10
2026-01 9
2025-12 12

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 20
0-1m 11
15m-54m 5
54m+ 2

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 269,995
Spain 6,316
United States 4,459
Ireland 4,277
Finland 2,658

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 242,983 27,012 -215,971
Spain 3,427 2,889 -538
United States 4,459 0 -4,459
Ireland 1,555 2,722 +1,167
Finland 0 2,658 +2,658
Italy 0 2,242 +2,242
United Arab Emirates 0 1,616 +1,616
Nigeria 0 1,456 +1,456
Switzerland 1,000 0 -1,000

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 £
Portugal 2,722

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 £
Portugal 0 2,722 +2,722

Export volume by transport

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

Top 5 values

Transport £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 277,063
Air transport 8,115
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 6,119
Other 2,722

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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 244,538 32,525 -212,013
Air transport 5,459 2,656 -2,803
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,427 2,692 -735
Other 0 2,722 +2,722

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 274,179
Liverpool Docks 6,058
East Midlands Airport 5,459
000 2,722
London Gateway Port 1,616

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 £
Dover / Eurotunnel 242,983 31,196 -211,787
Liverpool Docks 4,982 1,076 -3,906
East Midlands Airport 5,459 0 -5,459
000 0 2,722 +2,722
London Gateway Port 0 1,616 +1,616
London Heathrow Airport 0 1,456 +1,456
Immingham Docks 0 1,329 +1,329
London Stansted Airport 0 1,200 +1,200

Related HS codes

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

Quick facts

HS code: 5206

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

Description: Cotton yarn used for weaving or knitting, not sold in small packages for individual use. Contains less than 85% cotton by weight