How to export cheese from the UK to China

Start with the manufacturer's approval route

Cheese falls within the dairy recommendation route: confirm the product code in GACC's registration system. Under GACC Decree 280, the manufacturer applies itself or through an agent and obtains its country's competent-authority recommendation, including a plant audit report and recommendation letter. This takes months, not weeks, and the Chinese authority decides. The manufacturer must supply its application material and obtain the recommendation; a brand must establish the producing plant's position before committing stock. For milk powder, see exporting UK milk powder to China.

HMRC recorded £10.2m of UK goods exports to mainland China under HS 040610, 040620, 040630, 040640, 040690 in 2025 (2024: £3.9m, +159%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £7.3m. January to July 2026: £9.9m against £4.5m in the same months of 2025 (+116.6%).

The largest UK export line was 04061030, fresh Mozzarella, at £7.7m; this is the HS-code total. Registration alone does not settle shipment readiness: the overseas exporter or agent must file with GACC, and the importer must file with its local customs office. Where entry quarantine approval is required, the importer must obtain the permit before signing the trade contract.

Price against the Chinese tariff line

The HS6 families distinguish fresh cheese and curd (040610), grated or powdered cheese (040620), processed cheese (040630), blue-veined cheese (040640) and other cheese (040690). The listed Chinese tariff rates are: 04061000 has a 12% MFN rate; the other lines have an 8% provisional rate in 2026. Their underlying MFN rates are 12%, except 04064000 at 15%.

Duty and import VAT add to the importer's landed cost and shape the price it can offer. The VAT Law sets a standard import rate of 13%, with 9% for listed categories and other special rules; have the importer's customs broker confirm the cheese's treatment. Import VAT uses customs value plus customs duty plus consumption tax as its base. The broker or adviser confirms whether consumption tax applies to this product.

Prepare artwork against the cheese standards

Have the importer review Chinese label artwork alongside the product specification. Packaging, labels and marks must comply with Chinese law and national food safety standards. The relevant standards to examine are GB 5420-2021 for cheese and GB 25192-2022 for processed cheese and cheese products; confirm which applies to the product. A registered manufacturer's China registration number, or its home-authority-approved number, must appear on the food packaging, and its registration number must be entered correctly at import declaration.

Arrange the UK declaration and dairy certificate

For exports from England, Wales or Scotland, obtain a GB EORI and classify the cheese correctly. Arrange the export declaration with the commodity code, value, weight, packaging, destination, transport and invoice and packing-list references. The carrier needs the invoice and applicable export licences or certificates. Match the declaration to the actual product rather than choosing a code from a competitor's shipment.

GOV.UK lists active export health certificate 6288, “Export milk or milk products to China”, covering products containing dairy such as cheese. Check its guidance notes for plant, product and ingredient limits before arranging certification. Check that your particular plant and recipe meet the certificate's conditions.

Check the bonded retail option by cheese type

The cross-border retail import list includes 04061000, 04063000 and 04069000, each restricted to online bonded goods. Do not extend those entries to every cheese type or to direct shipping. Eligible retail imports are supervised as personal-use goods, with first-import licence, registration and filing requirements disapplied subject to the stated risk exceptions. Consumers may not resell them. The overseas business retains product safety responsibility and must appoint a mainland company for customs registration, truthful declaration and shared civil liability.

Find an importer before committing the shipment

Check whether a prospective importer can handle your cheese type, review the plant's registration position, organise any required quarantine permit and work through the certificate and artwork. 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 cheese, 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 and any cross-border e-commerce agent remain licensed partners' roles, while the brand's own filings stay the brand's. Discuss that scope through our export-to-China service.