Sourcing barley from China
All supplied barley lines carry UK duty of £77.00 per 1000kg for goods from China, rather than a percentage range. Food barley must meet the same or equivalent hygiene standards as food produced in Great Britain. Confirm the intended use and organic documentation before shipping. Cambridge China Bridge sources barley.
Barley duty and import controls
Heading 1003 covers barley, with separate lines for seed, malting barley and other barley. Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 3 October 2026, all supplied lines show £77.00 per 1000kg for goods from China. The supplied record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspensions.
The supplied tariff record attaches organic import controls to every line. For organic food from China entering Great Britain, obtain a certificate of inspection for each consignment and check the exporter’s control body and country against the non-UK organic registers. The special malting line also carries a non-preferential tariff quota under authorised use; ask your customs broker to confirm the requirement and eligibility before relying on it.
Give your broker the intended use and lot specification, including the special beer-making criteria where relevant. Use finding your commodity code before agreeing the customs declaration.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping or countervailing duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barley seed | 1003 10 00 00 | £77.00 per 1000 kg | None |
| Malting barley meeting the specified criteria for beechwood-vat beer | 1003 90 00 20 | £77.00 per 1000 kg | None |
| Other barley for malt manufacture | 1003 90 00 30 | £77.00 per 1000 kg | None |
| Other barley | 1003 90 00 90 | £77.00 per 1000 kg | None |
Specify barley for the intended process
State whether the purchase is for food, feed, malting or sowing. Agree variety, crop identity, moisture, grain size, broken kernels, foreign matter and packaging. For malting, agree germination performance and protein specification with the maltster, together with the sampling and test methods.
For food use, imported cereals must meet the same or equivalent food hygiene standards and procedures as food produced in Great Britain. Ask for lot-specific laboratory results rather than a generic supplier certificate. Agree checks for pesticide residues and mould toxins with your laboratory.
Inspection checklist
Identity: match the variety, intended use and lot identifiers to the order and laboratory report.
Grain condition: sample across the shipment for moisture, broken kernels, foreign matter, insects and musty odours.
Malting performance: compare germination, grain sizing and protein results with the maltster’s agreed specification.
Packing: check bag integrity, water staining, container cleanliness and whether lot markings remain readable. Plan quality inspection around representative grain samples.
What goes wrong
A visually clean sample can conceal uneven moisture or poor germination elsewhere in the lot. Make acceptance depend on representative sampling and agreed laboratory methods. Keep damaged or suspect bags separate while investigating.
Do not treat ordinary malting barley as automatically eligible for the special beer-making line. Missing organic paperwork can also disrupt an organic shipment. Resolve the intended classification and documentation before loading.
Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on barley from China?
All supplied lines show £77.00 per 1000kg. This is a weight-based duty, not a percentage. The supplied record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty.
What documents do I need for organic barley?
For organic food entering Great Britain from China, obtain a certificate of inspection for each consignment and check the exporter’s control body and country against the non-UK organic registers.
Can I use the special malting barley code?
Only consider it where the goods match its specified quality criteria and beer-making use. The tariff attaches a quota under authorised use; confirm the requirement with your customs broker.
What should I test before buying malting barley?
Agree germination, moisture, grain sizing, protein and contamination checks with the maltster. Require results for the shipment lot and an agreed sampling method.