Sourcing barbecue charcoal and briquettes from China

0% on every line of heading 4402

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 28 September 2026, heading 4402 covers wood charcoal, including shell or nut charcoal, whether or not agglomerated. All six lines carried 0% on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. The tariff gives charcoal exported from Somalia its own lines; for goods made in China the lines ending 90 apply.

Charcoal briquettes made from charcoal stay in 4402. Wood briquettes and pellets made from sawdust, which are not carbonised, are heading 4401; confirm the commodity code from how the product is made.

Timber rules and dangerous goods

The UK timber regulation, retained Regulation (EU) No 995/2010, applies to the wood products listed in its annex. Heading 4401, fuel wood, wood briquettes and pellets, is on that list; heading 4402, charcoal, is not. A range that mixes charcoal with wood briquettes or kindling therefore needs due diligence on the wood products even though the charcoal itself is outside the regulation.

Charcoal is listed as UN 1361, carbon of animal or vegetable origin, class 4.2, because some charcoal can self-heat in a closed container. A grade that passes the self-heating test of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria can ship as non-dangerous, so ask for that test report on the exact product and packing before booking, and never accept charcoal packed hot or damp. Our activated carbon guide covers the same test for UN 1362.

Specifying charcoal

Specify the type (lumpwood, briquette, bamboo or coconut shell), the wood species or raw material, fixed carbon, moisture, ash and volatile matter, the size range and the maximum share of fines and dust, the bag weight and material, and any additives or binders in briquettes. For instant-light bags, specify the lighting agent and ask for the safety data sheet.

Consumer bags must be safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, so they should carry clear use warnings, such as not using the product indoors, alongside the net weight and your details.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 4,000 bags of 5 kg hardwood lumpwood charcoal, 20 tonnes, under 4402 90 00 90, at £16,000 free on board with £2,400 of freight and insurance, so the customs value is £18,400. There is no duty; import VAT at 20% is £3,680, which a VAT-registered retailer normally reclaims. Freight is about 60p a bag, 13% of the customs value, because charcoal is bulky and cheap for its weight, and a shipment booked as dangerous goods costs more to move, so the self-heating test report is worth more than any saving on the product. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

Inspection checklist

Quality: test moisture, ash and fixed carbon on a sample from the lot, sieve for fines, and burn a sample to check lighting time, sparking and smell.

Packing: check bag weights, seams and printing, that bags are dry and cool when palletised, and that the self-heating test report matches the product and the packing actually shipped.

Timing: charcoal sells in a short season, so agree the shipping date against your selling window. See our quality inspection guide.

What goes wrong

Charcoal orders fail on moisture, fines and timing. Charcoal packed damp arrives heavy and slow to light, fragile grades break into dust in transit, bags are short weight, and a shipment that misses the season sits in the warehouse until next spring.

Cambridge China Bridge sources barbecue charcoal and briquettes by the container for UK retailers, with the test report, moisture limits and shipping date agreed before production. See container programmes.