Import/export HS code 520931: Plain weave lightweight cotton fabric

Light and airy plain weave cotton fabric, ideal for summer clothing

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 £
India 4,742,979
China 743,088
Pakistan 585,516
Italy 494,282
Japan 393,045

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 £
India 2,060,750 2,682,229 +621,479
China 407,580 335,508 -72,072
Pakistan 458,619 126,897 -331,722
Italy 318,160 176,122 -142,038
Japan 86,599 306,446 +219,847
Switzerland 211,783 136,385 -75,398
Spain 176,802 146,462 -30,340
Germany 27,175 271,149 +243,974
Netherlands 90,068 146,412 +56,344
Turkey 157,526 75,782 -81,744

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 £
India 4,768,527
China 811,223
Pakistan 637,702
Italy 534,142
Japan 389,750

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 £
India 2,045,544 2,722,983 +677,439
China 449,319 361,904 -87,415
Pakistan 509,520 128,182 -381,338
Italy 330,875 203,267 -127,608
Japan 86,599 303,151 +216,552
Germany 42,765 287,196 +244,431
Spain 177,372 146,462 -30,910
Switzerland 201,257 99,435 -101,822
Turkey 179,502 76,856 -102,646
Netherlands 11,755 124,683 +112,928

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 16
Greater Manchester 10
West Yorkshire 8
Lancashire 7
Inner London - East 6

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 14 12 -2
Greater Manchester 8 8 +0
West Yorkshire 7 4 -3
Lancashire 5 6 +1
Inner London - East 4 5 +1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 5 3 -2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3 3 +0
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 3 3 +0
Outer London - East and North East 4 2 -2
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 3 1 -2

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) 5,281,774
Air transport 1,922,184
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,191,224
Road transport 190,855
Other 2,852

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) 2,558,300 2,723,474 +165,174
Air transport 760,051 1,162,133 +402,082
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 601,793 589,431 -12,362
Road transport 162,277 28,578 -133,699
Other 2,852 0 -2,852

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Southampton 3,206,003
Felixstowe 1,215,347
London Heathrow Airport 942,903
London Gateway Port 663,438
Dover 459,761

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 1,382,753 1,823,250 +440,497
Felixstowe 899,469 315,878 -583,591
London Heathrow Airport 318,317 624,586 +306,269
London Gateway Port 175,483 487,955 +312,472
Dover 275,636 184,125 -91,511
Manchester Airport 196,460 176,139 -20,321
Eurotunnel 185,490 148,970 -36,520
London Stansted Airport 103,279 153,423 +50,144
ZLC 162,277 32,813 -129,464
Dover / Eurotunnel 83,579 88,273 +4,694

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 43
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 23
Manufacture of textiles 10
Manufacture of wearing apparel 7
Other manufacturing 4

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-04 17
2026-03 24
2026-02 22
2026-01 17
2025-12 17

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 45
0-1m 23
54m+ 13
15m-54m 10
Other 5

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 £
India 415,256
United States 346,950
France 223,220
China 208,466
Bangladesh 207,598

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 £
India 225,277 189,979 -35,298
United States 177,931 169,019 -8,912
France 120,655 102,565 -18,090
China 126,764 81,702 -45,062
Bangladesh 19,715 187,883 +168,168
Portugal 35,332 82,156 +46,824
Sweden 80,672 31,127 -49,545
Romania 53,165 31,693 -21,472
Indonesia 68,003 11,044 -56,959
Japan 50,453 17,045 -33,408

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 1,488,935
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 821,250
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 332,319

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 728,938 759,997 +31,059
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 396,256 424,994 +28,738
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 245,134 87,185 -157,949

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 663,992
London Heathrow Airport 443,993
Manchester Airport 441,159
East Midlands Airport 274,214
London Stansted Airport 164,740

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 315,079 348,913 +33,834
London Heathrow Airport 196,732 247,261 +50,529
Manchester Airport 271,165 169,994 -101,171
East Midlands Airport 138,240 135,974 -2,266
London Stansted Airport 69,757 94,983 +25,226
ZLC 49,580 105,542 +55,962
Southampton 86,433 38,608 -47,825
Dover 65,296 53,840 -11,456
London Gateway Port 71,252 27,442 -43,810
Liverpool Docks 71,666 17,436 -54,230

Quick facts

HS code: 520931

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

Description: Light and airy plain weave cotton fabric, ideal for summer clothing