UK importer numbers rose as exporter numbers fell in 2025, while separate ONS figures show goods import volumes increasing and export volumes declining, according to the HMRC.
The number of UK businesses importing goods increased in 2025 while the exporter population contracted, with separate trade data showing goods import and export volumes moving in the same directions.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) identified 362,992 businesses on customs declarations during 2025, 2% more than in 2024. Of these, 334,294 were importers, an increase of 4%, while 126,029 were exporters, down 5%.
Separate Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that UK goods import volumes increased 3.7% during 2025 after adjusting for inflation, while goods export volumes fell 2.1%.
The datasets measure different aspects of trade and should not be directly equated. HMRC measures the population of businesses identified through customs declarations, while ONS trade statistics measure the value and inflation-adjusted volume of goods moving into and out of the UK.
Neither dataset represents the retail sector specifically. Together, however, they provide wider context for retailers managing international supply chains: more businesses participated in importing during 2025 and the volume of goods imported also increased, while both exporter numbers and goods export volumes declined.
Importing grows while exporting contracts
The divergence in HMRC's data becomes clearer when businesses are split by direction of trade.
The number of businesses importing but not exporting rose 7% to 236,963 in 2025. By contrast, businesses exporting but not importing fell 14% to 28,698.
The number doing both also declined, falling 3% to 97,331.
Nearly two-thirds of the entire customs population — 65% — therefore imported without exporting, compared with 8% that exported without importing. A further 27% did both.
This matters for retail because a business can be heavily exposed to international trade through sourcing while selling mainly or entirely within the UK. Retailers do not need to export to be affected by customs requirements, duties, border procedures and international logistics.
HMRC's figures do not explain why individual businesses changed their trading activity. They do show, however, that importing became more prevalent within the population of businesses recorded on customs declarations.
Non-EU importing records strongest growth
One of the clearest movements in the data is the growth in businesses trading exclusively with non-EU markets.
The number of businesses moving goods to or from non-EU countries only rose 9% to 144,381 in 2025. At the same time, businesses trading with EU countries only fell 2% to 106,620. The number trading with both EU and non-EU markets also declined 2%.
The difference is particularly pronounced among businesses that import but do not export.
The number importing exclusively from non-EU countries increased 12%, from 112,846 to 126,488. By comparison, EU-only importing businesses increased just 1%, while those importing from both EU and non-EU markets rose 4%.
Exporting moved in the opposite direction. EU-only exporters fell 17%, non-EU-only exporters declined 11%, and businesses exporting to both EU and non-EU markets fell 15%.
The figures do not demonstrate that businesses are replacing European suppliers with non-EU alternatives. Nor do they establish that retailers are responsible for the shift.
For retailers sourcing from non-EU markets, however, those supply chains can involve different freight arrangements, tariffs, origin requirements, customs procedures, product classification and documentation. These factors can affect lead times and the final landed cost of merchandise.
Importer numbers and import volumes both increased
HMRC's business-population figures are reinforced by a separate movement in UK goods trade, although the two measures need to be distinguished.
ONS data shows that UK goods imports increased 2.6% in current-price terms during 2025, while import volumes increased 3.7% after adjusting for inflation.
Goods exports moved in the opposite direction, falling 2.2% by value and 2.1% by volume.
The comparison means that 2025 saw both a larger population of importing businesses and higher goods import volumes. On the other side of the trade ledger, the exporter population contracted while goods export volumes declined.
This does not establish a causal relationship between the movements. A 4% increase in importer numbers does not mean that those additional businesses caused the 3.7% increase in import volume, just as a 5% fall in exporters cannot be directly equated with the 2.1% decline in export volume.
A smaller or larger population of traders can account for very different quantities and values of trade depending on the size and activity of the businesses involved.
Nevertheless, the two official datasets point in the same broad direction during 2025: expansion on the import side and contraction on the export side of UK goods trade.
What the shift means for retail supply chains
For retailers, the significance of the figures lies less in the national trade balance than in what an increasingly import-oriented trading environment means for international sourcing.
Goods moving between Great Britain and the EU have required customs declarations since 1 January 2021. The compliance environment changed further during 2025, with safety and security declarations becoming mandatory for goods imported from the EU into Great Britain from 31 January.
Imports can involve different tariffs, origin requirements, product compliance obligations and customs procedures depending on the goods, where they originate and the trading arrangements that apply.
For retailers, accurate commodity classification, reliable customs data and clear responsibilities between the business, suppliers, freight providers and customs intermediaries are therefore integral to international sourcing.
The commercial implications also extend beyond a supplier's quoted price.
Freight, duties, customs charges, insurance, compliance requirements and inventory carrying costs can change the economics of a sourcing decision. A supplier offering a lower unit price may not represent the lower-cost option once the full journey from factory or supplier to the retailer's inventory is considered.
Landed cost, rather than purchase price alone, is therefore an important measure when comparing international sourcing options.
A changing population of traders
HMRC's figures also reveal substantial movement in and out of the customs trading population.
Of the 362,992 businesses recorded in 2025, 261,862 were also present in the 2024 population. Another 101,130 — 28% of the 2025 total — had not appeared in the previous year's population.
Meanwhile, 93,074 businesses recorded in 2024 were absent from the 2025 population.
HMRC cautions that this year-on-year churn does not necessarily represent permanent entry into or exit from international trade. Its analysis compares only two consecutive years and does not account for businesses' earlier trading behaviour.
Even so, the figures illustrate the fluidity of the population participating in customs trade. For retailers, changes in suppliers, sourcing countries or logistics arrangements can alter classification, origin requirements, duty exposure and border processes as well as the underlying purchase cost.
What retailers should take from the data
The central finding is broader than a simple increase in the number of UK importers.
HMRC shows that the population of businesses importing goods increased 4% to 334,294 in 2025, while the exporter population fell 5% to 126,029. Within the importer population, particularly strong growth came from businesses importing exclusively from non-EU countries.
ONS data provides a separate perspective on the same trading environment. Inflation-adjusted goods import volumes increased 3.7%, while goods export volumes fell 2.1%.
Neither dataset establishes what happened within retail specifically, and the parallel movements should not be interpreted as evidence that one caused the other.
They do, however, show that two different measures of UK goods trade moved in the same broad direction in 2025: more businesses were importing and more goods were imported, while fewer businesses were exporting and goods export volumes declined.
For a retail sector closely connected to international sourcing, that makes the interaction between supplier choice, customs requirements, logistics and landed costs an increasingly important part of commercial decision-making.
Sources: HM Revenue & Customs, Customs Importer and Exporter Population 2025; Office for National Statistics, UK trade statistics.
