HMRC records show 270 businesses trading internationally from Exeter over the last six months. That puts it second in Devon for trade activity. Most of that activity sits in machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical machinery and electronics, optical, photographic and medical instruments. Looking ahead, our model expects import activity here to ease back by around 17.3% over the next three months.
Refreshed every 24 hours · last run 05/10/2026 at 06:14HMRC release in view: Aug 26Snapshot: 2026-10-04.1
2,535Import declarations▼ 13.6% on the 6 months before
1,503Export declarations
−17.3%Forecast, next 3 monthsBased on 2 years of data
270Trading businesses
Top 10 businesses by 6-month activity Free tier
Ranked by declaration volume and months active. Hover any bar in the 24-month indicators for that month's figures. Log in for keyword search and HMRC category filters across all 270 businesses.
★ Most active in ExeterFiled more customs declarations than any other Exeter business over the last six months — roughly 6% of the town's total import activity, mostly in meat and edible offal.
Most active business
DUNBIA (UK)
148 import declarations154 export declarationsEX2 *Ch. 02Ch. 03Ch. 05Ch. 15Active in 5 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include fresh or chilled cuts of sheep, with bone in (excl. carcases and half-carcases), fresh or chilled edible offal of bovine animals, frozen cuts of sheep, with bone in (excl. carcases and half-carcases).
▼ Expected to slow by 10.0% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity148 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity154 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
STOVAX HEATING GROUP LTD
95 import declarations20 export declarationsEX2 *Ch. 25Ch. 32Ch. 34Ch. 35Active in 5 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include sheets or profiles of glass, whether or not having an absorbent, reflecting or non-reflecting layer, bent, edge-worked, engraved, enamelled or otherwise worked, but not framed or fitted with other materials (excl. safety glass, multiple-walled insula, mixtures and articles of heat-insulating, sound-insulating or sound absorbing mineral materials (excl. slag-wool, rock-wool and similar mineral wools, exfoliated vermiculite, expanded clays, foamed slag and similar expanded mineral materials, article, paints and varnishes based, incl. enamels and lacquers, on synthetic polymers or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in a non-aqueous medium, and solutions of products of headings 3901 to 3913 in volatile organic solvents, co.
▼ Expected to slow by 10.9% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity95 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity20 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
THE SPORTSMAN GUN CENTRE LIM
87 import declarations17 export declarationsEX2 *Ch. 28Ch. 39Ch. 40Ch. 42Active in 5 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include sporting, hunting or target-shooting shotguns, with at least one smooth barrel (excl. muzzle-loading firearms and spring, air or gas guns), parts and accessories of shotguns or rifles of heading 9303, n.e.s., spring, air or gas guns and pistols, truncheons and other non-firearms (excl. swords, cutlasses, bayonettes and similar arms of heading 9307).
▼ Expected to slow by 5.4% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity87 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity17 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
ORIGINAL STYLE LTD
46 import declarations36 export declarationsEX2 *Ch. 25Ch. 35Ch. 39Ch. 44Active in 5 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles, of a water absorption coefficient by weight <= 0,5 % (excl. refractory, mosaic cubes and finishing ceramics), ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles, of a water absorption coefficient by weight > 10 % (excl. refractory, mosaic cubes and finishing ceramics), finishing ceramics (excl. refractory).
▲ Expected to increase by 0.0% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity46 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity36 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
LEAR BROWNE & DUNSFORD LTD
29 import declarations49 export declarationsEX2 *Ch. 41Ch. 49Ch. 50Ch. 51Active in 5 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include woven fabrics containing >= 85% combed wool or combed fine animal hair by weight and weighing > 200 g/m, woven fabrics containing >= 85% carded wool or carded fine animal hair by weight and weighing > 300 g/m (excl. fabrics for technical uses specificed in heading 5911), woven fabrics containing >= 85% combed wool or combed fine animal hair by weight and weighing <= 200 g/m (excl. fabrics for technical uses of heading 5911).
▲ Expected to increase by 33.3% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity29 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity49 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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260 more Exeter businesses
Every importer and exporter in EX1 / EX2 / EX4 with monthly activity, 24-month indicators, forecasts, Companies House records, AI research and validated contact reveals.
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What Exeter trades
The most frequently declared goods across all 270 businesses in the last six months — useful for picking which trade lanes to prospect.
Tricycles, scooters, pedal cars and similar wheeled toys; dolls' carriages; dolls; other toys; reduced-size "scale" recreational models, working or not; puzzles of all kindsFresh or chilled cuts of sheep, with bone in (excl. carcases and half-carcases)Cheese (excl. fresh cheese, incl. whey cheese, curd, processed cheese, blue-veined cheese and other cheese containing veins produced by "Penicillium roqueforti", and grated or powdered cheese)Parts and accessories, for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and special purpose motor vLive plants, incl. their roots, and mushroom spawn (excl. bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, crowns and rhizomes, incl. chicory plants and roots, unrooted cuttings and slips, fruit and nut trees, rhododendrons, azaleas and roses)Fresh or chilled edible offal of bovine animalsPaints and varnishes based, incl. enamels and lacquers, on synthetic polymers or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in a non-aqueous medium, and solutions of products of headings 3901 to 3913 in volatile organic solvents, coFrozen cuts of sheep, with bone in (excl. carcases and half-carcases)
Common questions about trade in Exeter
How many businesses import or export from Exeter?
HMRC customs records show 270 businesses in Exeter (EX1, EX2, EX4) filed declarations over the last six months — 2,535 import declarations and 1,503 export declarations in total. This page is rebuilt every 24 hours as new HMRC data is published.
What do Exeter businesses import most?
The most common category is machinery and mechanical appliances. Across all Exeter traders the leading goods are tricycles, scooters, pedal cars and similar wheeled toys; dolls' carriages; dolls; other toys; reduced-size "scale" recreational models, working or not; puzzles of all kinds, fresh or chilled cuts of sheep, with bone in (excl. carcases and half-carcases), cheese (excl. fresh cheese, incl. whey cheese, curd, processed cheese, blue-veined cheese and other cheese containing veins produced by "penicillium roqueforti", and grated or powdered cheese), parts and accessories, for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and special purpose motor v. You can filter the full list by HMRC category once logged in.
Is trade from Exeter growing?
Import activity is down 13.6% compared with the previous six months. Our model, which reads two years of monthly history, expects the next three months to soften by roughly 17.3%. That figure is our estimate, not an HMRC projection.
How do I get contact details for Exeter importers?
Create an account to see all 270 businesses, open their Companies House records, run AI research on their website and buying signals, and reveal validated email and LinkedIn contacts.
Nearby in Devon
Other Devon locations with active customs entries.