Import/export HS code 520921: Plain weave medium cotton fabric

Lightweight plain weave cotton fabric, soft and breathable for casual wear

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 £
Germany 371,078
Pakistan 278,596
India 225,358
Japan 94,313
China 60,528

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 £
Germany 179,696 191,382 +11,686
Pakistan 206,223 72,373 -133,850
India 115,260 110,098 -5,162
Japan 0 94,313 +94,313
China 22,754 37,774 +15,020
Netherlands 32,781 22,981 -9,800
Belgium 30,519 0 -30,519
United States 15,529 11,903 -3,626
Spain 13,702 2,443 -11,259
Turkey 15,158 0 -15,158

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 £
Germany 312,354
Pakistan 290,182
India 238,349
Japan 94,313
China 67,147

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 £
Germany 160,042 152,312 -7,730
Pakistan 213,853 76,329 -137,524
India 117,931 120,418 +2,487
Japan 0 94,313 +94,313
China 27,135 40,012 +12,877
Netherlands 24,846 19,025 -5,821
France 11,105 28,323 +17,218
Turkey 29,908 0 -29,908
Switzerland 16,545 11,706 -4,839
Spain 16,266 2,443 -13,823

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Greater Manchester 4
Inner London - West 3
Lancashire 3
Outer London - West and North West 3
Northern Ireland 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
Greater Manchester 4 3 -1
Inner London - West 1 3 +2
Lancashire 2 2 +0
Outer London - West and North West 2 2 +0
Northern Ireland 2 2 +0
Shropshire and Staffordshire 0 2 +2
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 1 0 -1
Essex 0 1 +1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1 1 +0
Inner London - East 1 1 +0

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) 615,290
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 398,453
Air transport 157,461
Road transport 16,316
Other 12,722

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) 330,448 284,842 -45,606
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 253,733 144,720 -109,013
Air transport 39,355 118,106 +78,751
Road transport 14,078 2,238 -11,840
Other 11,315 1,407 -9,908

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Southampton 383,581
Felixstowe 180,427
Eurotunnel 156,090
London Gateway Port 103,477
Dover 72,262

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 221,382 162,199 -59,183
Felixstowe 79,699 100,728 +21,029
Eurotunnel 106,523 49,567 -56,956
London Gateway Port 67,657 35,820 -31,837
Dover 51,796 20,466 -31,330
Birmingham Airport 1,025 47,107 +46,082
Immingham Docks 21,702 25,836 +4,134
Belfast Port 22,637 9,494 -13,143
London Heathrow Airport 0 29,560 +29,560
Leeds Bradford Airport 6,993 18,706 +11,713

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 13
Manufacture of textiles 9
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 5
Other manufacturing 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
2026-04 5
2026-03 6
2026-02 1
2026-01 6
2025-12 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 16
0-1m 5
15m-54m 4
54m+ 2
Other 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 £
Malta 86,166
United States 47,861
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 41,650
Ireland 32,949
Germany 22,439

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 £
Malta 44,493 41,673 -2,820
United States 27,024 20,837 -6,187
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 31,174 10,476 -20,698
Ireland 23,328 9,621 -13,707
Germany 18,208 4,231 -13,977
Italy 15,200 5,706 -9,494
Australia 8,488 4,222 -4,266
Japan 0 11,748 +11,748
Saudi Arabia 1,453 8,945 +7,492
Finland 6,690 2,751 -3,939

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 £
Panama 8,980
China 2,993
Turkey 2,364

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 £
Panama 3,659 5,321 +1,662
China 1,640 1,353 -287
Turkey 1,634 730 -904

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) 172,181
Air transport 127,407
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 34,483
Other 14,337

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) 105,869 66,312 -39,557
Air transport 75,200 52,207 -22,993
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 20,551 13,932 -6,619
Other 6,933 7,404 +471

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 149,541
London Heathrow Airport 57,871
East Midlands Airport 39,784
Liverpool Docks 19,135
London Gateway Port 16,910

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 85,125 64,416 -20,709
London Heathrow Airport 41,002 16,869 -24,133
East Midlands Airport 20,757 19,027 -1,730
Liverpool Docks 15,127 4,008 -11,119
London Gateway Port 15,854 1,056 -14,798
000 6,933 7,404 +471
Manchester Airport 1,063 11,633 +10,570
Southampton 1,709 8,868 +7,159
London Stansted Airport 9,196 1,167 -8,029
ZLC 3,182 2,634 -548

Quick facts

HS code: 520921

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

Description: Lightweight plain weave cotton fabric, soft and breathable for casual wear