How to export Beef offal from the UK to China

Confirm the route for your offal before offering stock

Beef offal covers HS6 020610 for fresh or chilled edible bovine offal, 020621 for frozen tongues, 020622 for frozen livers and 020629 for other frozen edible offal. These products follow the meat registration route requiring competent-authority recommendation. Confirm the precise product scope in GACC’s registration system. The supplied Chinese tariff lines are absent from the cross-border e-commerce retail import list. For lamb orders, see our guide to exporting UK lamb to China. For pork offal and fat, see our guide to exporting pork by-products to China.

HMRC recorded £533k of UK goods exports to mainland China under HS 020610, 020621, 020622, 020629 in 2025 (2024: £113k, +372%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £1.5m. January to July 2026: £0 against £533k in the same months of 2025 (-100%).

The largest listed UK export line was 02062999, frozen edible bovine offal excluding pharmaceutical manufacture, at £500k. Frozen livers under 02062200 accounted for £32k. These are UK export totals under those HS lines; they do not confirm that your plant or proposed shipment can export.

The manufacturer must pursue registration

GACC Decree 280 requires overseas food manufacturers, processors and storage enterprises to register. For this meat route, the manufacturer applies itself or through an agent and must obtain its country’s competent-authority recommendation, supported by a plant audit report and recommendation letter. Plan for months, not weeks: the Chinese authority decides. The manufacturer must supply the application material and support the plant audit.

Registration lasts five years, but meat registrations are not renewed automatically. The overseas exporter or agent must also file with GACC, and the Chinese importer with its local customs office. Where entry quarantine approval is required, the importer must obtain the permit before signing the trade contract. The manufacturer’s registration number must be entered correctly on the import declaration.

Allow for duty and confirm the VAT treatment

Each Chinese offal tariff line below has an MFN rate of 12%. The VAT Law sets a general import rate of 13% and a 9% rate for agricultural products; have the importer’s customs broker confirm the treatment of your offal and whether consumption tax applies. Import VAT uses customs value plus customs duty plus consumption tax as its base. These amounts increase landed cost and shape the price the importer can offer.

Prepare meat packaging and the standards review

Fresh and frozen meat needs firm, clear marks in Chinese and English giving origin country, product name, plant registration number and batch number. The outer pack must also state specification, origin, destination, production date, shelf life and storage temperature in Chinese, and identify the destination as the PRC. Prepare artwork against these meat requirements before printing.

GB 2707-2016 covers fresh and frozen livestock and poultry products; include it in the offal standards review. Imported prepackaged food also needs a compliant Chinese label identifying origin and the domestic agent’s name, address and contact details, with Chinese instructions where required. Match the registration number used on packaging to the manufacturer’s registration records.

Resolve the UK certificate route with APHA

The GOV.UK China export health certificate listing has no certificate for this product. Ask APHA to confirm whether the proposed offal can be exported and which health certificate route applies before committing to supply. Animals and animal products fall within the UK export guidance on special rules, licences or certificates. For pork shipments, see our guide to exporting pork cuts to China.

For exports from England, Scotland or Wales, arrange a GB EORI, classify the goods and make the export declaration. Give the declarant the commodity code, value, weight, packaging, destination, transport details and invoice and packing list references. The carrier needs the invoice and any required export licences or certificates.

Find and check a Chinese importer

Check a prospective importer’s customs filing and how it will handle the quarantine permit, declaration and offal pricing. Our own staff in China find and check Chinese importers and distributors for UK brands. If an importer has already approached you, our staff check that company before stock is sent or anything is signed.

For this category, our help is limited to preparation, finding and checking a Chinese importer, and coordinating licensed partners. We prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China; the importer of record stays with licensed partners, and your own filings stay yours. Use our export preparation service to organise that work.