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 3,709,220
Pakistan 733,097
China 665,351
Italy 463,948
Switzerland 393,767

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 1,765,644 1,943,576 +177,932
Pakistan 635,787 97,310 -538,477
China 396,593 268,758 -127,835
Italy 337,607 126,341 -211,266
Switzerland 251,886 141,881 -110,005
Japan 45,220 267,854 +222,634
Spain 163,861 125,733 -38,128
Turkey 148,342 77,964 -70,378
Netherlands 121,448 84,122 -37,326
Germany 23,284 93,137 +69,853

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 3,709,414
Pakistan 789,177
China 717,417
Italy 484,681
Switzerland 346,291

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 1,737,657 1,971,757 +234,100
Pakistan 690,582 98,595 -591,987
China 439,419 277,998 -161,421
Italy 358,449 126,232 -232,217
Switzerland 250,616 95,675 -154,941
Japan 45,220 267,639 +222,419
Spain 164,431 125,733 -38,698
Turkey 182,117 77,964 -104,153
Germany 30,677 143,417 +112,740
Netherlands 12,867 62,393 +49,526

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 17
Greater Manchester 11
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 13 13 +0
Greater Manchester 9 8 -1
West Yorkshire 6 5 -1
Lancashire 5 6 +1
Inner London - East 4 5 +1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 5 3 -2
West Midlands 5 0 -5
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3 3 +0
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 3 3 +0
Outer London - East and North East 3 3 +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) 4,411,383
Air transport 1,603,054
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,029,100
Road transport 213,940
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) 2,436,740 1,974,643 -462,097
Air transport 718,055 884,999 +166,944
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 621,946 407,154 -214,792
Road transport 187,276 26,664 -160,612
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 2,517,954
Felixstowe 1,152,703
London Heathrow Airport 811,041
London Gateway Port 537,752
Dover 428,173

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 1,247,953 1,270,001 +22,048
Felixstowe 898,792 253,911 -644,881
London Heathrow Airport 300,122 510,919 +210,797
London Gateway Port 193,608 344,144 +150,536
Dover 293,205 134,968 -158,237
Manchester Airport 169,235 147,050 -22,185
Eurotunnel 177,222 131,994 -45,228
ZLC 187,276 30,899 -156,377
London Stansted Airport 91,784 75,273 -16,511
East Midlands Airport 89,023 76,463 -12,560

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 26
Manufacture of textiles 9
Manufacture of wearing apparel 8
Other manufacturing 5

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 17
2025-11 24
2025-10 22
2025-09 22
2025-08 13

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 47
0-1m 22
54m+ 14
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 419,545
United States 288,564
China 204,152
France 200,055
Indonesia 159,777

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 135,430 284,115 +148,685
United States 183,710 104,854 -78,856
China 65,411 138,741 +73,330
France 110,781 89,274 -21,507
Indonesia 159,777 0 -159,777
Sweden 92,536 19,532 -73,004
Portugal 49,481 53,272 +3,791
Romania 65,039 27,418 -37,621
Japan 58,055 11,484 -46,571
Italy 39,641 28,109 -11,532

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 1,330,645
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 650,231
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 391,814
Road transport 10,183

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 669,602 661,043 -8,559
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 412,647 237,584 -175,063
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 272,916 118,898 -154,018
Road transport 10,183 0 -10,183

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 512,863
London Heathrow Airport 400,609
Manchester Airport 386,476
East Midlands Airport 265,555
Southampton 204,757

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 332,839 180,024 -152,815
London Heathrow Airport 256,595 144,014 -112,581
Manchester Airport 131,306 255,170 +123,864
East Midlands Airport 164,733 100,822 -63,911
Southampton 108,314 96,443 -11,871
ZLC 62,597 90,635 +28,038
London Stansted Airport 61,090 68,125 +7,035
Dover 62,785 36,751 -26,034
London Gateway Port 69,660 15,666 -53,994
Liverpool Docks 71,666 2,838 -68,828

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