Over the last six months, 483 Poole businesses filed customs declarations. That makes it the busiest trading location in Dorset. Most of that activity sits in machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical machinery and electronics, plastics and plastic articles. Looking ahead, our model expects import activity here to pick up by around 1.2% over the next three months.
Refreshed every 24 hours · last run 25/08/2026 at 11:41HMRC release in view: Jun 26Snapshot: 2026-08-25.1
8,658Import declarations▼ 1.1% on the 6 months before
5,703Export declarations
+1.2%Forecast, next 3 monthsBased on 2 years of data
483Trading 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 483 businesses.
★ Most active in PooleFiled more customs declarations than any other Poole business over the last six months — roughly 22% of the town's total import activity, mostly in dairy, eggs and honey.
Most active business
SIGMA-ALDRICH COMPANY LIMITED
1886 import declarations755 export declarationsBH15 *Ch. 04Ch. 05Ch. 11Ch. 13Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include chemical products and preparations of the chemical or allied industries, incl. those consisting of mixtures of natural products, n.e.s., organo-sulphur compounds (excl. thiocarbamates and dithiocarbamates, thiuram mono-, di- or tetrasulphides, methionine, 2-(n,n-diethylamino)ethanethiol, bis(2-hydroxyethyl)sulfide (thiodiglycol (inn)), aldicarb [iso], captafol [iso], methamidophos [is, polyethers, in primary forms (excl. polyacetals, bis(polyoxyethylene) methylphosphonate and goods of 3002).
▲ Expected to increase by 3.4% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity1886 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity755 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
LUSH LTD.
98 import declarations152 export declarationsBH17 *Ch. 04Ch. 09Ch. 11Ch. 12Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include essential oils, whether or not terpeneless, incl. concretes and absolutes (excl. those of citrus fruit and mint), perfumes and toilet waters (excl. aftershave lotions, personal deodorants and hair lotions), pigments and preparations based on titanium dioxide of a kind used for colouring any material or produce colorant preparations, containing < 80% by weight of titanium dioxide calculated on the dry matter (excl. preparations of heading 3207, 3208, 320.
▼ Expected to slow by 15.9% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity98 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity152 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
LUSH MANUFACTURING LIMITED
186 import declarations384 export declarationsBH17 *Ch. 04Ch. 06Ch. 07Ch. 08Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include fixed vegetable fats and oils and their fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified (excl. soya-bean, groundnut, olive, palm, sunflower-seed, safflower, cotton-seed, coconut, palm kernel, babassu, rape, colza and mustard, linseed,, stoppers, lids, caps and other closures, of plastics, perfumes and toilet waters (excl. aftershave lotions, personal deodorants and hair lotions).
▼ Expected to slow by 32.0% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity186 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity384 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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208 import declarations332 export declarationsBH12 *Ch. 25Ch. 28Ch. 29Ch. 30Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include handkerchiefs, cleansing or facial tissues and towels, of paper pulp, paper, cellulose wadding or webs of cellulose fibres, trays, dishes, plates, cups and the like, of paper or paperboard (excl. of bamboo paper or bamboo paperboard), toilet paper in rolls of a width of <= 36 cm.
▲ Expected to increase by 15.2% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity208 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity332 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
GP & J BAKER LIMITED
197 import declarations275 export declarationsBH17 *Ch. 08Ch. 09Ch. 32Ch. 34Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include woven fabrics of cotton, containing predominantly, but < 85% cotton by weight, mixed principally or solely with man-made fibres and weighing > 200 g/m , made of yarn of different colours (excl. those in three-thread or four-thread twill, incl. cross, woven fabrics of flax, containing >= 85% flax by weight, unbleached or bleached, wallpaper and similar wallcoverings of paper, and window transparencies of paper (excl. wallcoverings of paper, consisting of paper coated or covered, on the face side, with a grained, embossed, coloured or design-printed or otherwise decorated layer.
▲ Expected to increase by 6.1% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity197 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity275 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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473 more Poole businesses
Every importer and exporter in BH12 / BH13 / BH14 / BH15 with monthly activity, 24-month indicators, forecasts, Companies House records, AI research and validated contact reveals.
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What Poole trades
The most frequently declared goods across all 483 businesses in the last six months — useful for picking which trade lanes to prospect.
Articles of plastics and articles of other materials of heading 3901 to 3914, n.e.s (excl. goods of 9619)Chemical products and preparations of the chemical or allied industries, incl. those consisting of mixtures of natural products, n.e.s.Articles of iron or steel, n.e.s. (excl. cast articles or articles of iron or steel wire)Made-up articles of textile materials, incl. dress patterns, n.e.s.Travelling-bags, insulated food or beverage bags, toilet bags, rucksacks, shopping-bags, map-cases, tool bags, sports bags, jewellery boxes, cutlery cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar contaBoards, cabinets and similar combinations of apparatus for electric control or the distribution of electricity, for a voltage <= 1.000 VParts of machines and mechanical appliances, n.e.s.Articles of aluminium, n.e.s.
Common questions about trade in Poole
How many businesses import or export from Poole?
HMRC customs records show 483 businesses in Poole (BH12, BH13, BH14, BH15) filed declarations over the last six months — 8,658 import declarations and 5,703 export declarations in total. This page is rebuilt every 24 hours as new HMRC data is published.
What do Poole businesses import most?
The most common category is machinery and mechanical appliances. Across all Poole traders the leading goods are articles of plastics and articles of other materials of heading 3901 to 3914, n.e.s (excl. goods of 9619), chemical products and preparations of the chemical or allied industries, incl. those consisting of mixtures of natural products, n.e.s., articles of iron or steel, n.e.s. (excl. cast articles or articles of iron or steel wire), made-up articles of textile materials, incl. dress patterns, n.e.s.. You can filter the full list by HMRC category once logged in.
Is trade from Poole growing?
Import activity is down 1.1% compared with the previous six months. Our model, which reads two years of monthly history, expects the next three months to rise by roughly 1.2%. That figure is our estimate, not an HMRC projection.
How do I get contact details for Poole importers?
Create an account to see all 483 businesses, open their Companies House records, run AI research on their website and buying signals, and reveal validated email and LinkedIn contacts.
Nearby in Dorset
Other Dorset locations with active customs entries.