UK–China trade: June 2026
UK imports from China were £5.68bn in June 2026, up 18.4% compared with June 2025. UK exports to China, excluding precious metals (HS chapter 71), were £998m in June 2026, up 1.8% compared with June 2025.
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UK imports from China
| Month / Year to date (January to the note month) | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | 5,680,386,995 | 4,799,440,577 | +880,946,418 | +18.4% |
| Year to date (January to the note month) | 32,860,893,636 | 29,742,408,799 | +3,118,484,837 | +10.5% |
HS chapters: five largest rises in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87 | Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof | 792,957,983 | 524,874,870 | +268,083,113 | +51.1% |
| 85 | Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles | 1,217,910,773 | 1,043,828,149 | +174,082,624 | +16.7% |
| 73 | Articles of iron or steel | 234,952,221 | 139,267,301 | +95,684,920 | +68.7% |
| 84 | Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof | 984,665,968 | 923,619,726 | +61,046,242 | +6.6% |
| 29 | Organic chemicals | 111,193,552 | 69,075,812 | +42,117,740 | +61.0% |
HS chapters: five largest falls in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes | 69,637,303 | 76,220,788 | -6,583,485 | -8.6% |
| 64 | Footwear, gaiters and the like; parts of such articles | 60,376,554 | 63,390,728 | -3,014,174 | -4.8% |
| 90 | Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof | 121,991,654 | 124,940,636 | -2,948,982 | -2.4% |
| 62 | Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted | 88,603,089 | 91,295,945 | -2,692,856 | -2.9% |
| 69 | Ceramic products | 21,819,400 | 22,951,079 | -1,131,679 | -4.9% |
HS4 headings: five largest rises in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8703 | Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of <10 persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) | 661,670,466 | 385,395,833 | +276,274,633 | +71.7% |
| 8517 | Telephone sets, incl. smartphones and other telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, incl. apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless ne | 433,503,883 | 304,641,510 | +128,862,373 | +42.3% |
| 7308 | Structures and parts of structures "e.g., bridges and bridge-sections, lock-gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, shutters, balustrades, pillars and columns", of iron or | 105,483,651 | 25,278,932 | +80,204,719 | +317.3% |
| 8507 | Electric accumulators, incl. separators therefor, whether or not square or rectangular; parts thereof (excl. spent and those of unhardened rubber or textiles) | 117,009,162 | 72,955,033 | +44,054,129 | +60.4% |
| 2933 | Heterocyclic compounds with nitrogen hetero-atom[s] only | 52,813,405 | 24,029,740 | +28,783,665 | +119.8% |
HS4 headings: five largest falls in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8544 | Insulated "incl. enamelled or anodised" wire, cable "incl. coaxial cable" and other insulated electric conductors, whether or not fitted with connectors; optical fibre cables, made up of individually sheathed fibres, whether or not assembled with ele | 47,780,162 | 119,049,737 | -71,269,575 | -59.9% |
| 8411 | Turbojets, turbopropellers and other gas turbines | 97,197,298 | 136,622,529 | -39,425,231 | -28.9% |
| 8702 | Motor vehicles for the transport of >= 10 persons, incl. driver | 5,690,774 | 21,864,376 | -16,173,602 | -74.0% |
| 9504 | Video game consoles and machines, table or parlour games, incl. pintables, billiards, special tables for casino games and automatic bowling equipment, amusement machines operated by coins, banknotes, bank cards, tokens or by any other means of paymen | 23,921,948 | 39,819,672 | -15,897,724 | -39.9% |
| 9030 | Oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers and other instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking electrical quantities (excl. meters of heading 9028); instruments and apparatus for measuring or detecting alpha, beta, gamma, X-ray, cosmic or other ioni | 3,837,591 | 17,484,914 | -13,647,323 | -78.1% |
UK exports to China (excluding HS chapter 71)
| Month / Year to date (January to the note month) | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | 998,411,911 | 981,139,361 | +17,272,550 | +1.8% |
| Year to date (January to the note month) | 5,462,265,190 | 6,280,079,404 | -817,814,214 | -13.0% |
| Chapter 71 separately: month | 4,316,778,235 | 32,103,832 | +4,284,674,403 | +13346.3% |
| Chapter 71 separately: year to date | 14,982,813,017 | 9,474,351,464 | +5,508,461,553 | +58.1% |
Precious metals and stones (HS chapter 71, mostly non-monetary gold) are counted separately. Gold shipments are large and lumpy. Left in, they would decide the headline on their own, so chapter 71 is kept out of export headline totals and movers.
HS chapters: five largest rises in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84 | Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof | 318,601,614 | 240,249,021 | +78,352,593 | +32.6% |
| 74 | Copper and articles thereof | 89,330,504 | 44,666,473 | +44,664,031 | +100.0% |
| 28 | Inorganic chemicals: organic or inorganic compounds of precious metals, of rare-earth metals, of radioactive elements or of isotopes | 11,515,720 | 1,078,131 | +10,437,589 | +968.1% |
| 22 | Beverages, spirits and vinegar | 20,584,902 | 14,787,122 | +5,797,780 | +39.2% |
| 75 | Nickel and articles thereof | 10,432,505 | 6,731,839 | +3,700,666 | +55.0% |
HS chapters: five largest falls in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87 | Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof | 136,471,945 | 203,553,504 | -67,081,559 | -33.0% |
| 30 | Pharmaceutical products | 73,286,628 | 97,844,206 | -24,557,578 | -25.1% |
| 88 | Aircraft, spacecraft, and parts thereof | 14,328,369 | 29,874,820 | -15,546,451 | -52.0% |
| 90 | Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof | 63,021,359 | 75,906,176 | -12,884,817 | -17.0% |
| 02 | Meat and edible meat offal | 12,888,044 | 17,455,989 | -4,567,945 | -26.2% |
HS4 headings: five largest rises in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8411 | Turbojets, turbopropellers and other gas turbines | 228,416,836 | 104,692,257 | +123,724,579 | +118.2% |
| 7404 | Waste and scrap, of copper (excl. ingots or other similar unwrought shapes, of remelted copper waste and scrap, ashes and residues containing copper, and waste and scrap of primary cells, primary batteries and electric accumulators) | 88,741,055 | 44,071,155 | +44,669,900 | +101.4% |
| 2208 | Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength of < 80%; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages (excl. compound alcoholic preparations of a kind used for the manufacture of beverages) | 19,873,754 | 13,830,974 | +6,042,780 | +43.7% |
| 8481 | Taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances for pipes, boiler shells, tanks, vats or the like, incl. pressure-reducing valves and thermostatically controlled valves; parts thereof | 14,331,639 | 11,318,445 | +3,013,194 | +26.6% |
| 8807 | Parts of aircraft and spacecraft of heading 8801, 8802 or 8806, n.e.s. | 13,907,589 | 10,977,695 | +2,929,894 | +26.7% |
HS4 headings: five largest falls in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8703 | Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of <10 persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) | 125,854,957 | 193,634,607 | -67,779,650 | -35.0% |
| 8802 | Powered aircraft "e.g. helicopters and aeroplanes" (excl. unmanned aircraft of heading 8806); spacecraft, incl. satellites, and suborbital and spacecraft launch vehicles | 0 | 18,608,835 | -18,608,835 | -100.0% |
| 3002 | Human blood; animal blood prepared for therapeutic, prophylactic or diagnostic uses; antisera and other blood fractions and immunological products, whether or not modified or obtained by means of biotechnological processes; vaccines, toxins, cultures | 23,142,480 | 37,395,772 | -14,253,292 | -38.1% |
| 8408 | Compression-ignition internal combustion piston engine "diesel or semi-diesel engine" | 8,721,039 | 22,790,211 | -14,069,172 | -61.7% |
| 8419 | Machinery, plant or laboratory equipment whether or not electrically heated (excl. furnaces, ovens and other equipment of heading 8514), for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such as heating, cooking, roasting, | 2,110,118 | 15,814,289 | -13,704,171 | -86.7% |
Method and source
Source: HMRC overseas trade statistics (OTS), CountryId 720 (China), FlowTypeId 3 (non-EU imports) and FlowTypeId 4 (non-EU exports). Figures cover goods, in nominal GBP; they are not seasonally adjusted or adjusted for inflation. They do not cover services.
Each month is compared with the same calendar month a year earlier. Year-to-date figures cover January through the note month in each year. Chapter 99 and unclassified codes are excluded from totals and tables. As on the Export Pulse, precious metals (HS chapter 71) are excluded from export monthly and year-to-date headline totals and changes, chapter movers and all HS4 heading movers under 71, and reported separately. Imports include chapter 71, as on the Import Pulse.
Movers are ranked by the absolute change in pounds, with positive and negative changes listed separately, up to five per table. A chapter or heading must have a value of at least £10 million in either comparison month. Products traded in only one month are included; a zero prior value has no percentage change. Ties are ordered by HS code. Descriptions follow HMRC, as on the Import Pulse.
HMRC may revise earlier figures. Rebuilding a month replaces that month's note with the latest available figures. The revision date below changes only when the data changes. Earlier notes are retained at their own URLs.
HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics · HMRC OTS API
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