Sourcing brined cucumbers from China

UK duty on brined cucumbers for processing

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 13 November 2026, provisionally preserved cucumbers and gherkins under 0711 40 00 00 carry 0% duty from China. The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. These goods must be unsuitable in their imported state for immediate consumption. The table shows variants covered by the same commodity line.

The tariff attaches an organic import control. For organic consignments from China into 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 exporter’s control body issues the certificate.

Ready-to-eat pickles belong in chapter 20 rather than this heading. Give your broker the preservation recipe, intended processing and product sample to confirm the commodity code. See the wider brined vegetables guide for the rest of the heading.

Specify cucumbers for your desalting and pickling process

Agree cucumber variety, size grade, firmness, colour, acceptable defects and drained weight per drum. Specify brine salt content, acidity, any preservative used, drum material, liner and seal. Ask the processor to approve a sample after desalting and its intended processing, rather than judging only the appearance in brine.

Imported processed vegetables must meet the same hygiene standards and safety procedures as food produced in Great Britain. Further processing does not remove the importer’s responsibility to ensure goods are safe and legal before import. Agree salt, acidity and sulphite specifications with the processor, and request batch-matched pesticide residue and contaminant reports.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 20 tonnes of brined cucumbers in food-grade drums under 0711 40 00 00, invoiced at £9,000 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £11,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £11,500, so it is £2,300. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step. This assumes the goods are standard-rated for VAT. Most food for human consumption is zero-rated, and animal feed can be too, in which case no import VAT is due, so check the rate for your product in HMRC's VAT Notice 701/14.

Inspection checklist

Brine and preservatives: sample drums across the lot and compare salt content, acidity and residual sulphur dioxide, if used, with the processor’s specification.

Texture and grading: check firmness, colour, size consistency, damaged skins and soft cucumbers against the approved sample; repeat the processor’s agreed desalting trial.

Drained weight: weigh drained cucumbers from sampled drums using the agreed draining method, and compare the result with the declared weight.

Drums and records: check seals, liners, leaks and brine coverage; match product, lot and packing details to the test reports. Use the inspection guide to brief the inspector.

What goes wrong

Leaking drums expose the upper cucumbers, which can dry out or soften. Weak brine can allow spoilage, while excessive preservative residues may exceed what the processor can remove. Cucumbers that look acceptable in brine may become soft after desalting, and a heavy drum can conceal a shortage of drained product.

Agree the draining and processing trial methods before ordering. Inspect filled drums before loading and compare arrival samples with the agreed specification before releasing the batch for processing.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For repeat volumes, see container programmes.