Import/export HS code 9704: Postage stamps and related items

Includes used or unused stamps, first-day covers, and stamped paper, except for those in heading 4907

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 4,162,553
France 3,749,585
Switzerland 3,671,931
Australia 2,358,424
Sweden 2,256,141

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 1,434,444 2,728,109 +1,293,665
France 3,627,355 122,230 -3,505,125
Switzerland 2,279,550 1,392,381 -887,169
Australia 1,693,962 664,462 -1,029,500
Sweden 2,137,735 118,406 -2,019,329
Czechia 2,167,037 0 -2,167,037
Japan 1,292,844 268,333 -1,024,511
United States 663,484 838,963 +175,479
Italy 1,180,815 130,757 -1,050,058
Belgium 735,156 14,978 -720,178

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 £
Switzerland 3,580,665
United Kingdom 3,433,190
Germany 3,128,289
Australia 2,339,133
Sweden 2,251,032

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 £
Switzerland 2,220,473 1,360,192 -860,281
United Kingdom 3,293,764 139,426 -3,154,338
Germany 467,264 2,661,025 +2,193,761
Australia 1,675,259 663,874 -1,011,385
Sweden 2,137,735 113,297 -2,024,438
Czechia 2,168,014 0 -2,168,014
Japan 1,287,058 251,419 -1,035,639
United States 632,902 772,423 +139,521
Italy 1,179,411 125,886 -1,053,525
Canada 1,060,265 2,199 -1,058,066

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 8
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2
Essex 2
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 2
Highlands and Islands 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
Inner London - West 7 2 -5
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 1 1 +0
Essex 2 0 -2
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 1 2 +1
Highlands and Islands 2 2 +0
Lancashire 1 1 +0
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 1 1 +0
Outer London - West and North West 2 1 -1
West Central Scotland 1 1 +0
Greater Manchester 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 £
Air transport 24,649,460
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,342,120
Road transport 311,784
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 282,487
Other 15,914

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 £
Air transport 18,363,719 6,285,741 -12,077,978
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,909,072 433,048 -1,476,024
Road transport 138,725 173,059 +34,334
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 139,474 143,013 +3,539
Other 14,727 1,187 -13,540

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Birmingham Airport 10,116,346
London Heathrow Airport 8,829,144
London Stansted Airport 3,252,841
London 1,662,397
East Midlands Airport 1,359,415

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 £
Birmingham Airport 9,730,010 386,336 -9,343,674
London Heathrow Airport 5,506,578 3,322,566 -2,184,012
London Stansted Airport 2,076,747 1,176,094 -900,653
London 1,557,002 105,395 -1,451,607
East Midlands Airport 704,147 655,268 -48,879
499 49,000 634,921 +585,921
ZLC 138,725 170,988 +32,263
Eurotunnel 178,361 102,263 -76,098
Thamesport 126,151 121,922 -4,229
Dover 123,241 99,459 -23,782

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
9
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
6
Other personal service activities
4
Manufacture of beverages
3
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities
3

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-05 2
2026-04 1
2026-03 5
2026-02 1
2026-01 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
54m+ 12
0-1m 8
1m-15m 7
15m-54m 4
Other 4

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 £
United States 9,395,105
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 5,077,131
South Korea 4,847,422
Germany 3,349,429
Switzerland 3,181,397

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 £
United States 4,839,758 4,555,347 -284,411
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 3,518,582 1,558,549 -1,960,033
South Korea 1,400 4,846,022 +4,844,622
Germany 1,116,831 2,232,598 +1,115,767
Switzerland 2,369,776 811,621 -1,558,155
Denmark 2,255,730 405,184 -1,850,546
Czechia 2,332,974 151,536 -2,181,438
Sweden 2,104,291 8,500 -2,095,791
Uruguay 1,510,000 7,813 -1,502,187
France 1,109,244 190,938 -918,306

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 45,403,875
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 895,317
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 173,260

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 28,874,106 16,529,769 -12,344,337
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 550,751 344,566 -206,185
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 37,363 135,897 +98,534

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Heathrow Airport 23,878,392
Birmingham Airport 12,877,043
London Stansted Airport 4,187,209
ZLC 1,806,223
East Midlands Airport 1,754,350

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 £
London Heathrow Airport 10,457,257 13,421,135 +2,963,878
Birmingham Airport 12,877,043 0 -12,877,043
London Stansted Airport 2,767,194 1,420,015 -1,347,179
ZLC 1,155,619 650,604 -505,015
East Midlands Airport 793,337 961,013 +167,676
London Gatwick Airport 524,855 43,002 -481,853
Immingham Docks 104,708 200,240 +95,532
Dover / Eurotunnel 230,184 68,714 -161,470
Harwich 102,995 166,232 +63,237
Luton Airport 127,700 0 -127,700

Quick facts

HS code: 9704

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

Description: Includes used or unused stamps, first-day covers, and stamped paper, except for those in heading 4907