445 businesses in Colchester appear in HMRC customs records for the last six months. That puts it third in Essex for trade activity. 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 2.7% 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
5,908Import declarations▼ 0.5% on the 6 months before
3,293Export declarations
+2.7%Forecast, next 3 monthsBased on 2 years of data
445Trading 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 445 businesses.
★ Most active in ColchesterFiled more customs declarations than any other Colchester business over the last six months — roughly 4% of the town's total import activity, mostly in salt, stone, plaster and cement.
Most active business
QUINTA RADDISON LIMITED
213 import declarations694 export declarationsCO4 *Ch. 25Ch. 27Ch. 28Ch. 29Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include medium oils and preparations, of petroleum or bituminous minerals, not containing biodiesel, n.e.s., instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking the flow or level of liquids (excl. meters and regulators), instruments, appliances and machines for measuring or checking, not elsewhere specified in chapter 90 (excl. optical).
▲ Expected to increase by 9.7% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity213 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity694 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
IMPRESSION EUROPE LTD
136 import declarationsImports onlyCO3 *Ch. 17Ch. 18Ch. 21Ch. 33Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include 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 conta, ball-point pens, registers, account books, notebooks, order books, receipt books, letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar articles, of paper or paperboard.
▼ Expected to slow by 4.3% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity136 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity0 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
TILLEY DISTRIBUTION UK LIMITED
295 import declarations197 export declarationsCO4 *Ch. 13Ch. 15Ch. 29Ch. 32Active 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), butanoic acids, pentanoic acids, their salts and esters, lactones.
▲ Expected to increase by 12.9% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity295 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity197 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
MAREL GB LTD
362 import declarations55 export declarationsCO4 *Ch. 34Ch. 39Ch. 40Ch. 42Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include gears and gearing for machinery (excl. toothed wheels, chain sprockets and other transmission elements presented separately); ball or roller screws; gear boxes and other speed changers, incl. torque converters, static converters, parts suitable for use solely or principally with the apparatus of heading 8535, 8536 or 8537, n.e.s. (excl. boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases for the goods of heading 8537, not equipped with their apparatus).
▲ Expected to increase by 11.4% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity362 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity55 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
RAPID ELECTRONICS LTD
228 import declarations123 export declarationsCO4 *Ch. 27Ch. 30Ch. 32Ch. 34Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include instruments, apparatus and models designed for demonstrational purposes, e.g. in education or exhibitions, unsuitable for other uses (excl. ground flying trainers of heading 8805, collectors' pieces of heading 9705 and antiques of an age > 100 years, plugs and sockets for a voltage <= 1.000 v (excl. lamp holders), switches for a voltage <= 1.000 v (excl. relays and automatic circuit breakers).
▲ Expected to increase by 14.4% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity228 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity123 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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435 more Colchester businesses
Every importer and exporter in CO1 / CO2 / CO3 / CO4 with monthly activity, 24-month indicators, forecasts, Companies House records, AI research and validated contact reveals.
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What Colchester trades
The most frequently declared goods across all 445 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)Articles of iron or steel, n.e.s. (excl. cast articles or articles of iron or steel wire)Wine of fresh grapes, incl. fortified wines, and grape must whose fermentation has been arrested by the addition of alcohol, in containers of <= 2 l (excl. sparkling wine)Static convertersInstruments, appliances and machines for measuring or checking, not elsewhere specified in chapter 90 (excl. optical)Live 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)Centrifugal pumps, power-driven (excl. those of subheading 8413.11 and 8413.19, fuel, lubricating or cooling medium pumps for internal combustion piston engine and concrete pumps)Food preparations, n.e.s.
Common questions about trade in Colchester
How many businesses import or export from Colchester?
HMRC customs records show 445 businesses in Colchester (CO1, CO2, CO3, CO4) filed declarations over the last six months — 5,908 import declarations and 3,293 export declarations in total. This page is rebuilt every 24 hours as new HMRC data is published.
What do Colchester businesses import most?
The most common category is machinery and mechanical appliances. Across all Colchester 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), articles of iron or steel, n.e.s. (excl. cast articles or articles of iron or steel wire), wine of fresh grapes, incl. fortified wines, and grape must whose fermentation has been arrested by the addition of alcohol, in containers of <= 2 l (excl. sparkling wine), static converters. You can filter the full list by HMRC category once logged in.
Is trade from Colchester growing?
Import activity is down 0.5% compared with the previous six months. Our model, which reads two years of monthly history, expects the next three months to rise by roughly 2.7%. That figure is our estimate, not an HMRC projection.
How do I get contact details for Colchester importers?
Create an account to see all 445 businesses, open their Companies House records, run AI research on their website and buying signals, and reveal validated email and LinkedIn contacts.
Nearby in Essex
Other Essex locations with active customs entries.