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 4,195,057
Switzerland 3,971,405
France 3,741,828
Australia 2,397,781
Sweden 2,260,902

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 509,546 3,685,511 +3,175,965
Switzerland 2,231,789 1,739,616 -492,173
France 3,299,553 442,275 -2,857,278
Australia 1,336,418 1,061,363 -275,055
Sweden 45,184 2,215,718 +2,170,534
Czechia 8,036 2,159,001 +2,150,965
Japan 75,001 1,486,176 +1,411,175
United States 553,745 931,338 +377,593
Italy 99,401 1,200,421 +1,101,020
Belgium 4,911 745,223 +740,312

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 3,880,139
United Kingdom 3,434,146
Germany 3,164,275
Australia 2,358,490
Sweden 2,254,914

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 2,180,656 1,699,483 -481,173
United Kingdom 3,247,588 186,558 -3,061,030
Germany 422,055 2,742,220 +2,320,165
Australia 1,279,692 1,078,798 -200,894
Sweden 44,305 2,210,609 +2,166,304
Czechia 8,036 2,159,978 +2,151,942
Japan 75,398 1,463,079 +1,387,681
United States 518,578 867,153 +348,575
Italy 97,997 1,195,550 +1,097,553
Canada 17,000 1,053,691 +1,036,691

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 9
Inner London - East 3
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2
Essex 2
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 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 5 5 +0
Inner London - East 3 1 -2
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 1 1 +0
Essex 2 1 -1
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

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 25,180,102
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,414,962
Road transport 311,784
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 281,135
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 7,675,959 17,504,143 +9,828,184
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,621,494 793,468 -828,026
Road transport 138,725 173,059 +34,334
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 107,990 173,145 +65,155
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 10,172,096
London Heathrow Airport 8,891,223
London Stansted Airport 3,287,411
London 1,691,872
East Midlands Airport 1,417,355

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 342,612 9,829,484 +9,486,872
London Heathrow Airport 4,301,461 4,589,762 +288,301
London Stansted Airport 1,884,192 1,403,219 -480,973
London 1,422,582 269,290 -1,153,292
East Midlands Airport 681,844 735,511 +53,667
499 49,000 634,921 +585,921
Eurotunnel 69,735 241,744 +172,009
ZLC 138,725 170,988 +32,263
Thamesport 93,203 152,986 +59,783
Dover 87,548 118,408 +30,860

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
Manufacture of beverages 4
Other personal service activities 4
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
2026-04 1
2026-03 5
2026-02 1
2026-01 2
2025-12 4

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+ 14
0-1m 8
1m-15m 7
Other 4
15m-54m 3

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 6,238,812
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 5,070,692
South Korea 4,847,422
Switzerland 3,697,580
Germany 3,420,730

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 4,909,558 1,329,254 -3,580,304
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 1,020,586 4,050,106 +3,029,520
South Korea 0 4,847,422 +4,847,422
Switzerland 2,481,651 1,215,929 -1,265,722
Germany 260,488 3,160,242 +2,899,754
Denmark 2,242,455 418,459 -1,823,996
Czechia 179,808 2,311,757 +2,131,949
Sweden 6,072 2,107,719 +2,101,647
Uruguay 1,510,000 7,813 -1,502,187
Australia 377,429 926,436 +549,007

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 42,922,780
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 935,232
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 15,421,016 27,501,764 +12,080,748
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 431,116 504,116 +73,000
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 21,186,581
Birmingham Airport 12,877,043
London Stansted Airport 4,370,174
ZLC 1,864,519
East Midlands Airport 1,756,805

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 8,651,805 12,534,776 +3,882,971
Birmingham Airport 1,379,197 11,497,846 +10,118,649
London Stansted Airport 2,787,286 1,582,888 -1,204,398
ZLC 1,213,109 651,410 -561,699
East Midlands Airport 719,163 1,037,642 +318,479
London Gatwick Airport 524,855 43,002 -481,853
Harwich 129,850 179,732 +49,882
Immingham Docks 96,489 208,459 +111,970
Dover / Eurotunnel 185,184 113,714 -71,470
Luton Airport 0 127,700 +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