How to export Agricultural machinery to China

Choose the import route for each machine

Agricultural machinery covers implements, harvesting equipment, processing machinery and tractors across the HS codes below. Start with the machine's function, specification and exact model, rather than treating the whole range as one import category. For distributor sales, plan the commercial import route; the limited cross-border retail entries are for personal use and cannot support resale.

For UK exports under the HS codes in the aggregate row below: HMRC recorded £4.7m of UK goods exports to mainland China under 46 HS6 subheadings in 2025 (2024: £14.6m, -67.8%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £396k. January to July 2026: £2.7m against £2.7m in the same months of 2025 (+0.3%).

The largest UK export line was self-propelled forage harvesters under HS 843359, UK line 84335911: £750k. That is a customs-line total, not a forecast for your model. Compare the buyer's intended use, servicing arrangements and spare-parts needs before committing stock.

Price against the Chinese tariff line

Chinese tariff lines 84321000 for ploughs and 84322100 for disc harrows have an MFN rate of 5%; cultivators under 84322900 have 4%. Forage-harvesting lines 84335910, 84335920 and 84335990 have 8%. Milking machines under 84341000 have MFN 8%, provisional 2026 rate 4%; dairy machinery under 84342000 has MFN 6%, provisional 2026 rate 2%; their parts under 84349000 have MFN 5%, provisional 2026 rate 2%.

The VAT Law places agricultural machinery in the 9% import VAT list; the standard goods rate is 13%. Have the buyer's customs broker confirm which treatment covers the exact machine or part. Import VAT uses customs value plus duty plus any applicable consumption tax; the broker or adviser confirms whether that tax applies. These border charges increase landed cost and shape the price the importer can offer.

Resolve tractor CCC scope before dispatch

The CCC reference matches list wheeled tractors under 8701911000 and 8701921000, and vehicles under 8701919000, 8701929000, 8701939000, 8701949000 and 8701959000, using third-party certification. A reference-code match needs a model-specific scope check before shipment. Where certification approval is required, plan for months, not weeks; the Chinese authority decides approval. Do not extend these matches to every implement or tractor in your range.

Prepare the UK export declaration

For exports from England, Scotland or Wales, obtain a GB EORI and classify the machine under the correct UK commodity code. The online export declaration needs its value, weight, packaging, destination, transport details and invoice and packing-list references. Give the carrier the invoice and any required export licences or certificates. Agree who makes the declaration and ensure the model description matches the specification supplied to the Chinese buyer.

Keep cross-border retail separate from distributor sales

The cross-border e-commerce retail list includes 84341000 milking machines, 84342000 dairy machinery and 84351000 presses and crushers for wine or juice production. Listing is partial, not permission for the whole range. Under bonded 1210 or direct 9610 retail imports, listed goods receive personal-use supervision and first-import licence, registration and filing requirements are not applied, subject to epidemic-area suspensions and emergency risk handling.

The overseas seller must appoint a mainland-registered company for customs registration, truthful declarations and shared civil liability, while retaining primary quality and safety responsibility. Consumers must accept the risk notice and cannot resell the goods. The transaction limit is RMB 5,000 and the annual limit RMB 26,000 per person. Assess this route against the machine's intended buyer and use before choosing it.

Check the importer before agreeing supply

Our own staff in China find and check Chinese importers and distributors for UK brands. If an importer has already approached you, our staff in China check that company before stock is sent or anything is signed. Use our export-to-China service to arrange that work.

We prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China. The importer of record and, where required, the cross-border e-commerce agent remain licensed partners' regulated roles; your own filings remain yours. We check with those partners. Set out who handles model-specific CCC questions, the import declaration, spare parts and servicing before agreeing supply.