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 5,075,010
China 729,109
Italy 499,656
Pakistan 441,661
Japan 403,010

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 2,145,306 2,929,704 +784,398
China 407,354 321,755 -85,599
Italy 319,174 180,482 -138,692
Pakistan 367,040 74,621 -292,419
Japan 107,939 295,071 +187,132
Switzerland 243,330 97,371 -145,959
Germany 28,147 275,820 +247,673
Spain 165,980 132,547 -33,433
Turkey 165,755 71,555 -94,200
Netherlands 85,335 138,155 +52,820

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 5,090,988
China 797,244
Italy 542,653
Pakistan 493,847
Japan 399,715

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 2,128,198 2,962,790 +834,592
China 453,035 344,209 -108,826
Italy 327,152 215,501 -111,651
Pakistan 417,941 75,906 -342,035
Japan 107,939 291,776 +183,837
Germany 42,587 291,867 +249,280
Spain 170,080 132,547 -37,533
Switzerland 232,804 60,421 -172,383
Turkey 178,158 72,629 -105,529
Netherlands 13,725 120,368 +106,643

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
Lancashire 8
West Yorkshire 8
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 13 13 +0
Greater Manchester 8 7 -1
Lancashire 5 7 +2
West Yorkshire 8 3 -5
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) 5,439,199
Air transport 1,926,591
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,167,737
Road transport 183,086
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) 2,589,298 2,849,901 +260,603
Air transport 764,232 1,162,359 +398,127
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 589,677 578,060 -11,617
Road transport 155,927 27,159 -128,768
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 3,438,062
Felixstowe 1,153,791
London Heathrow Airport 913,421
London Gateway Port 671,825
Dover 468,277

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 1,410,738 2,027,324 +616,586
Felixstowe 859,858 293,933 -565,925
London Heathrow Airport 319,886 593,535 +273,649
London Gateway Port 234,798 437,027 +202,229
Dover 269,249 199,028 -70,221
Manchester Airport 166,353 239,125 +72,772
Eurotunnel 179,995 133,101 -46,894
London Stansted Airport 103,626 150,924 +47,298
ZLC 158,849 28,472 -130,377
Dover / Eurotunnel 87,467 81,750 -5,717

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
22
Manufacture of textiles
12
Manufacture of wearing apparel
6
Other manufacturing
4

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-05 18
2026-04 17
2026-03 24
2026-02 22
2026-01 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 44
0-1m 24
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 392,988
United States 341,395
France 221,441
Bangladesh 207,598
China 207,228

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 204,933 188,055 -16,878
United States 175,393 166,002 -9,391
France 108,095 113,346 +5,251
Bangladesh 19,715 187,883 +168,168
China 126,730 80,498 -46,232
Portugal 31,047 85,493 +54,446
Sweden 68,987 32,011 -36,976
Indonesia 68,003 11,044 -56,959
Romania 46,967 31,693 -15,274
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 1,442,865
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 788,064
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 326,129

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 706,196 736,669 +30,473
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 360,066 427,998 +67,932
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 239,984 86,145 -153,839

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 629,820
Manchester Airport 441,159
London Heathrow Airport 413,710
East Midlands Airport 267,802
London Stansted Airport 164,796

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 282,494 347,326 +64,832
Manchester Airport 291,896 149,263 -142,633
London Heathrow Airport 165,461 248,249 +82,788
East Midlands Airport 128,954 138,848 +9,894
London Stansted Airport 72,875 91,921 +19,046
ZLC 43,546 102,145 +58,599
Southampton 86,433 38,608 -47,825
Dover 60,868 62,014 +1,146
London Gateway Port 73,176 25,518 -47,658
Liverpool Docks 68,003 18,339 -49,664

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