How to export food processing machines to China
Classify each machine, check whether its model falls within the CCC catalogue, and agree the import route before shipment. Chinese duty and import VAT affect the buyer’s landed cost. Cambridge China Bridge’s own staff in China find and check Chinese importers and distributors for UK brands.
Choose the route for the actual machine
Food processing and packaging machinery needs a model-specific classification and certification check before shipment. The CCC reference table links liquid heaters and hot-and-cold drinking-water dispensers to 8419810000; that does not make every machine in this guide a CCC product. Give your prospective importer the machine’s function and specification before agreeing the supply terms. For the reverse trade route, see our commercial food dehydrator sourcing guide.
Under HS 8419-8438 (15 subheadings): HMRC recorded £7.4m of UK goods exports to mainland China under 15 HS6 subheadings in 2025 (2024: £10.0m, -26%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £1.4m. January to July 2026: £2.2m against £3.3m in the same months of 2025 (-32.2%).
The largest listed UK export line to China was packing or wrapping machinery under HS 842240, UK line 84224000, at £1.9m in 2025. This is the export total for that code, rather than sales of your particular machine. Use it to frame discussions with buyers, then establish demand for the process and capacity your equipment serves.
Resolve CCC applicability before shipment
For equipment within the matched CCC product scope, the reference table specifies third-party certification. Have the importer establish whether the actual model falls within that scope and identify the required certification before shipment. Allow months, not weeks for required approval; the Chinese authority decides. A shared commodity code alone is insufficient to settle the model’s certification position.
GACC Decree 280 concerns overseas food producers, processors and storage enterprises. Its food-manufacturer registration requirement does not apply to exporting these machines. Keep that distinction clear when a buyer requests food-sector registration: the machine’s CCC position and the food producer’s registration are separate questions.
Price against the Chinese tariff line
The Chinese tariff lines corresponding to these HS6 headings are listed below. Duty and import VAT add to the importer’s landed cost and shape the price it can offer. The standard import VAT rate is 13%, subject to reduced-rate or special rules; its base is customs value plus duty plus any applicable consumption tax. The importer’s customs broker confirms the applicable VAT treatment and whether consumption tax applies to the machine.
| Chinese tariff line | MFN rate; provisional rate where shown |
|---|---|
| 84198100 | 10%; 8% |
| 84221100 | 8% |
| 84221900 | 8% |
| 84222000 | 8% |
| 84223010 | 12% |
| 84223021 | 8% |
| 84223029 | 8% |
| 84223030 | 8% |
| 84223090 | 8% |
| 84224000 | 8% |
| 84229010 | 8%; 4% |
| 84229020 | 8.5% |
| 84229090 | 8.5% |
| 84381000 | 7% |
| 84382000 | 8% |
| 84383000 | 8% |
| 84384000 | 7% |
| 84385000 | 7% |
| 84386000 | 8% |
| 84388000 | 8% |
| 84389000 | 5% |
Prepare the UK export declaration
For exports from England, Scotland or Wales, obtain a GB EORI and the correct UK commodity code. The online export declaration needs the machine’s value, weight and packaging, destination and transport details, and invoice and packing list references. Give the carrier the invoice and any required export licences or certificates. Agree who will make the declaration, and keep the UK classification distinct from the Chinese tariff line used by the importer.
Use retail e-commerce only within its limits
The cross-border e-commerce retail import list partially covers these machines: 84198100 for hot-drink, cooking or food-heating equipment; 84221100 for household dishwashers; 84224000 for other packing or wrapping machines; 84381000 for bakery and pasta-making machines; and 84386000 for fruit, nut or vegetable-processing machines. A listing does not turn industrial equipment supplied for business use into a personal retail purchase.
Listed goods entering through 1210 or 9610 are supervised as personal-use articles, with first-import licence, registration and filing requirements generally disapplied, subject to the stated emergency exceptions. Purchases cannot be resold; limits are RMB 5,000 per transaction and RMB 26,000 annually per person. The overseas seller must appoint a mainland-registered company for customs registration, truthful declarations and shared civil liability. Consumers must accept the required risk notice before ordering.
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Check the Chinese buyer before committing
Ask a prospective machinery importer to explain its intended import route, Chinese classification and handling of any required CCC certification. Compare those answers with the machine’s specification and the planned use. 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.
We prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China. Regulated roles, including the importer of record and any required cross-border e-commerce agent, stay with licensed partners in China; the brand’s own filings stay the brand’s. Use our export-to-China service to discuss checking a machinery buyer and preparing the work with those partners.
Frequently asked questions
Does every food processing machine need CCC certification?
No blanket conclusion follows from the HS code. The reference table matches liquid heaters and hot-and-cold drinking-water dispensers under 8419810000. Check the actual model’s product scope before shipment.
What is the Chinese duty on packaging machinery?
Chinese line 84224000 has an 8% MFN rate. Filling, closing, sealing or labelling machinery under 842230 splits into lines with 12% or 8% MFN rates. Classification determines the relevant line.
Do machinery makers need GACC food-manufacturer registration?
GACC Decree 280 covers overseas food producers, processors and storage enterprises.
Can a Chinese distributor buy these machines through retail e-commerce?
The retail list covers only some relevant lines, and purchases are for personal use and cannot be resold. Its listing is not a route for a distributor to buy machinery for resale.