Free tool · Official UK data
What the UK buys from China
HMRC records every import. This page turns its figures into what matters for a buyer: how much the UK imports from China, which products and ports, what’s rising, and, for any product, how much comes in and at what price per kilo.
£66.8bnimported from China in the 12 months to July 2026
+6%on the 12 months before
£6.3bnin July 2026 alone
Imports from China, month by month
Show the numbers
| Month | Imports |
|---|---|
| August 2023 | £5.2bn |
| September 2023 | £5.6bn |
| October 2023 | £6.2bn |
| November 2023 | £5.7bn |
| December 2023 | £4.6bn |
| January 2024 | £4.7bn |
| February 2024 | £4.2bn |
| March 2024 | £5.1bn |
| April 2024 | £4.4bn |
| May 2024 | £5.1bn |
| June 2024 | £5.2bn |
| July 2024 | £5.3bn |
| August 2024 | £5.5bn |
| September 2024 | £5.1bn |
| October 2024 | £6.3bn |
| November 2024 | £6.5bn |
| December 2024 | £4.7bn |
| January 2025 | £5.2bn |
| February 2025 | £5.0bn |
| March 2025 | £5.3bn |
| April 2025 | £4.5bn |
| May 2025 | £5.0bn |
| June 2025 | £4.8bn |
| July 2025 | £5.3bn |
| August 2025 | £5.1bn |
| September 2025 | £5.4bn |
| October 2025 | £6.1bn |
| November 2025 | £5.6bn |
| December 2025 | £5.3bn |
| January 2026 | £5.1bn |
| February 2026 | £5.8bn |
| March 2026 | £5.8bn |
| April 2026 | £5.3bn |
| May 2026 | £5.2bn |
| June 2026 | £5.7bn |
| July 2026 | £6.3bn |
Biggest product groups
12 months to July 2026, with the change on the year before.
Show the numbers
| Group (HS chapter) | Imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical machinery and electronics (85) | £14.8bn | +4% |
| Machinery, incl. computers (84) | £11.4bn | +3% |
| Vehicles and parts (87) | £8.1bn | +54% |
| Furniture, bedding and lighting (94) | £4.3bn | no change |
| Toys, games and sports goods (95) | £3.1bn | −5% |
| Articles of iron or steel (73) | £2.4bn | +31% |
| Plastics and plastic goods (39) | £2.1bn | no change |
| Knitted clothing (61) | £1.8bn | −3% |
| Optical, medical and measuring instruments (90) | £1.4bn | +7% |
| Woven clothing (62) | £1.4bn | −7% |
| Rubber and rubber goods (40) | £0.9bn | +3% |
| Organic chemicals (29) | £0.9bn | +14% |
What’s rising
- Vehicles and parts£5.2bn → £8.1bn (+54%)
- Electrical machinery and electronics£14.2bn → £14.8bn (+4%)
- Articles of iron or steel£1.8bn → £2.4bn (+31%)
Where it lands
Top UK ports and airports by value of goods from China, 12 months.
Look up any product
See how much of your product the UK imports from China each month, and the average price per kilo importers declare.
Top 40 products from China
| Product (HS heading) | Imports, 12 months | Change | Per kg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8703 Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of <10… | £6.4bn | +82% | £9.08 |
| 8517 Telephone sets, incl. smartphones and other telephones for cellular networks or for… | £5.7bn | +10% | £377.42 |
| 8471 Automatic data-processing machines and units thereof; magnetic or optical readers,… | £4.6bn | −1% | £192.37 |
| 9403 Furniture and parts thereof, n.e.s. (excl. seats and medical, surgical, dental or… | £1.6bn | −1% | £2.04 |
| 8507 Electric accumulators, incl. separators therefor, whether or not square or rectangular;… | £1.4bn | +1% | £9.97 |
| 9401 Seats, whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof, n.e.s. (excl. medical,… | £1.4bn | +4% | £3.66 |
| 9503 Tricycles, scooters, pedal cars and similar wheeled toys; dolls' carriages; dolls;… | £1.2bn | −8% | £7.14 |
| 8516 Electric instantaneous or storage water heaters and immersion heaters; electric… | £1.0bn | −7% | £5.26 |
| 8411 Turbojets, turbopropellers and other gas turbines | £912m | +8% | £263.49 |
| 7308 Structures and parts of structures "e.g., bridges and bridge-sections, lock-gates,… | £898m | +196% | £2.18 |
| 9504 Video game consoles and machines, table or parlour games, incl. pintables, billiards,… | £841m | −13% | £20.26 |
| 9405 Luminaires and lighting fittings, incl. searchlights and spotlights, and parts thereof,… | £829m | −7% | £7.94 |
| 2404 Products containing tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, nicotine, or tobacco or nicotine… | £742m | +3% | £23.89 |
| 4202 Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, executive-cases, briefcases, school satchels,… | £708m | −11% | £6.77 |
| 8708 Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more… | £693m | −11% | £3.60 |
| 8504 Electrical transformers, static converters, e.g. rectifiers, and inductors; parts thereof | £640m | +4% | £16.58 |
| 9506 Articles and equipment for general physical exercise, gymnastics, athletics, other… | £633m | +7% | £2.80 |
| 8544 Insulated "incl. enamelled or anodised" wire, cable "incl. coaxial cable" and other… | £630m | +6% | £8.40 |
| 3926 Articles of plastics and articles of other materials of heading 3901 to 3914, n.e.s. | £609m | +2% | £4.32 |
| 4011 New pneumatic tyres, of rubber | £609m | no change | £2.14 |
| 8536 Electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making… | £570m | +9% | £12.68 |
| 8518 Microphones and stands therefor (excl. cordless microphones with built-in transmitter);… | £567m | +1% | £30.52 |
| 8528 Monitors and projectors, not incorporating television reception apparatus; reception… | £556m | −15% | £23.05 |
| 8481 Taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances for pipes, boiler shells, tanks, vats or the… | £517m | −4% | £9.08 |
| 8418 Refrigerators, freezers and other refrigerating or freezing equipment, electric or… | £509m | +7% | £3.17 |
| 6110 Jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, waistcoats and similar articles, knitted or crocheted… | £506m | +1% | £14.80 |
| 8467 Tools for working in the hand, pneumatic, hydraulic or with self-contained electric or… | £450m | −2% | £11.08 |
| 8302 Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors,… | £437m | −2% | £4.10 |
| 8541 Semiconductor devices "e.g. diodes, transistors, semiconductor-based transducers";… | £416m | +9% | £2.01 |
| 8508 Vacuum cleaners, incl. dry cleaners and wet vacuum cleaners | £396m | +1% | £9.00 |
| 8431 Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the machinery of heading 8425 to… | £395m | +23% | £1.98 |
| 8414 Air or vacuum pumps (excl. gas compound elevators and pneumatic elevators and… | £378m | +29% | £7.02 |
| 8543 Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, n.e.s. in chapter 85… | £366m | +7% | £39.26 |
| 8525 Transmission apparatus for radio-broadcasting or television, whether or not… | £354m | +33% | £59.87 |
| 9404 Mattress supports (excl. spring interiors for seats); articles of bedding and similar… | £349m | +2% | £3.16 |
| 9505 Festival, carnival or other entertainment articles, incl. conjuring tricks and novelty… | £344m | +4% | £5.60 |
| 6204 Women's or girls' suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts, divided skirts,… | £333m | no change | £22.62 |
| 3923 Articles for the conveyance or packaging of goods, of plastics; stoppers, lids, caps… | £323m | +2% | £3.12 |
| 0304 Fish fillets and other fish meat, whether or not minced, fresh, chilled or frozen | £293m | +27% | £5.75 |
| 3304 Beauty or make-up preparations and preparations for the care of the skin, incl.… | £290m | −9% | £8.50 |
About the data
- Source: HMRC overseas trade statistics (UK Trade Info), imports from China, customs value in pounds, published monthly. Refreshed on 26 September 2026; the latest month HMRC had published was July 2026.
- Why other totals differ: these are customs figures. The ONS and the Department for Business and Trade publish figures on a balance of payments basis, which measures trade differently, so their totals for UK imports from China are not the same.
- Price per kilo is the total value divided by the total net weight declared. It averages every product and quality level under a heading, and includes freight and insurance to the UK.
Contains HMRC data, used under the Open Government Licence. Some trade is suppressed or estimated by HMRC, and a small share has no recorded port.
More free tools for importers
- Anti-dumping watchEvery UK anti-dumping duty on goods from China, with rates, codes and open investigations.
- Plan my importFour short steps give one plan: landed cost, UK rules and documents, the order-by date and supplier checks.
- Landed-cost calculatorDuty, anti-dumping duty and import VAT for your product, from live UK Trade Tariff rates.
- Quote comparerPut up to four supplier quotes side by side and see which is really the cheapest to land.
- Supplier checkDecode the code on a Chinese business licence and run the warning signs before you pay.
- Payment safety checkCheck the bank details before you pay a supplier, and what to do if they change.
Questions about UK trade with China
How much does the UK import from China?
According to HMRC’s overseas trade statistics, the UK imported £66.8bn of goods from China in the 12 months to July 2026, +6% on the year before. Figures on the balance of payments basis used by the ONS and the Department for Business and Trade differ, because they are measured differently.
What does the UK import most from China?
By value, electrical machinery and electronics (£14.8bn), machinery, incl. computers (£11.4bn) and vehicles and parts (£8.1bn) in the 12 months to July 2026.
Which UK ports handle the most goods from China?
Felixstowe handled the most by value (£19.4bn in 12 months), followed by Southampton, London Gateway, London Heathrow.
Found your product here?
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