How to export biscuits from the UK to China

The registration route for UK biscuits

Biscuits, shortbread and waffles require overseas food manufacturer registration for ordinary imports. The manufacturer applies to GACC itself or through an agent; confirm the product in GACC’s registration system. GACC Decree 280 applies from 1 June 2026. The UK food safety MoU effective on 29 January 2026 created the cooperation mechanism for simplified batch registration; confirm with the relevant authority whether and how your manufacturer can use it. Plan for months, not weeks: the Chinese authority decides registration.

HMRC recorded £3.3m of UK goods exports to mainland China under HS 190531, 190532 in 2025 (2024: £4.0m, -16.7%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £12.7m. January to July 2026: £969k against £1.7m in the same months of 2025 (-42.1%).

HS 190531 covers sweet biscuits; HS 190532 covers waffles and wafers. The largest UK export line to mainland China was 19053130: sweet biscuits, whether or not containing cocoa, containing >= 8% milk, at £1.4m in 2025. These are HS-code totals.

Duty and VAT shape the importer’s offer

Chinese tariff lines 19053100 and 19053200 have an MFN rate of 10%. The VAT Law sets a standard import VAT rate of 13%, subject to its reduced-rate list and special rules. Import VAT uses customs value plus duty plus any applicable consumption tax. The importer’s customs broker confirms the VAT treatment and whether consumption tax applies to these biscuits. Border taxes add to landed cost and shape the price offered to your brand.

Prepare Chinese artwork before printing

For ordinary imports, prepackaged biscuits need a compliant Chinese label identifying the place of origin and the domestic agent’s name, address and contact details. Food packaging must also show the registered manufacturer’s China registration number or the number approved by its home authority. Give your Chinese partner the proposed artwork before committing to packaging.

GB 7100-2015 is the national food safety standard for biscuits. Check how it applies to each recipe and product format. GB 7718-2025 takes effect on 16 March 2027; artwork prepared now should be checked against both current labelling requirements and the incoming standard.

Arrange the UK export declaration

Classify each biscuit product before export; the HS6 headings alone do not settle the full UK commodity code. Exports from England, Scotland and Wales require a GB EORI and an online export declaration. Prepare the goods’ value, weight, packaging, destination, transport details, and invoice and packing list references. Give the carrier the invoice and any required export licences or certificates.

Cross-border retail offers a separate route

The cross-border e-commerce retail import list includes 19053100, sweet biscuits, and 19053200, waffles and wafers. Under bonded 1210 or direct 9610 retail imports, listed goods are supervised as personal-use articles without first-import licence, registration or filing requirements. Exceptions cover goods from suspended epidemic areas and emergency handling of major quality or safety risks. This route cannot supply stock for resale.

The overseas retail business bears the main product quality and safety responsibility and must appoint a mainland-registered company for customs registration, truthful declarations and shared civil liability. Before ordering, consumers must accept a risk notice covering possible differences from Chinese standards, possible absence of a Chinese label, access to a Chinese electronic label, and the personal-use restriction.

Find and check a Chinese biscuit importer

Match the importer’s intended biscuit range and sales channel to the ordinary import or cross-border retail route before agreeing packaging or shipment. Our own staff in China find and check Chinese importers and distributors for UK brands. If an importer has already approached your brand, our staff in China check that company before stock is sent or anything is signed.

We prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China. The importer of record and any required cross-border e-commerce agent remain licensed partners in China; your brand’s own filings remain yours. Use our export support to arrange these checks with Cambridge China Bridge.