Sourcing buckwheat and millet from China

UK duty and organic import controls

Heading 1008 covers buckwheat, millet, canary seed, fonio, quinoa, triticale and other cereals. Specify the grain species, its processing condition and whether it is intended for food, feed or sowing before choosing a commodity line.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 3 October 2026, China-origin buckwheat, fonio, quinoa and other cereals carry £30 per 1000 kg; millet carries £46 per 1000 kg; triticale carries £77 per 1000 kg; canary seed is 0%. The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duties and no suspensions. It attaches organic import control 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 export country against the non-UK organic registers. For organic feed or sowing seed, confirm the attached control with your customs broker before shipment. Use finding your commodity code to check the exact classification.

Specify grain identity and cleaning

Name the species and intended use. For millet, distinguish sowing seed from grain bought for food or feed. For buckwheat, describe whether the delivery retains its hull; ask the broker to assess the actual processing condition rather than accepting the supplier’s code.

Agree moisture, foreign matter, broken grain, colour, odour and pest acceptance criteria in writing. Request a representative sample and batch-specific laboratory results for the contaminants relevant to your grain and intended use. For quinoa, agree the cleaning treatment and assess bitterness in a prepared sample.

Cereals imported as food must meet the same or equivalent food hygiene standards and procedures as food produced in Great Britain. Assess the supplier’s cleaning, drying, storage and packing arrangements with this requirement in mind.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative trial consignment of bagged canary seed under 1008 30 00 00, invoiced at £1,000 free on board, with £1,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £2,000. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £2,000, so it is £400. 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

Identity: compare grain appearance, species description and processing condition with the approved sample and order.

Condition: check for damp bags, mouldy or musty odours, live insects, stones, hulls and excessive broken grain.

Weight and packing: check net delivery weight, bag integrity, seals and evidence of contamination during transport.

Batch documents: match bag markings to the supplier’s batch records and laboratory results. For organic food, check that the certificate of inspection relates to the consignment.

What goes wrong

A clean surface sample can conceal dusty or damp grain deeper in the bags. Agree how samples will be drawn across the consignment and retain reference samples. Visual inspection cannot establish pesticide or mycotoxin results; arrange testing and certification around the actual grain and use.

A supplier may describe grain as organic without providing the import paperwork for the shipment. Resolve the certificate and register checks before dispatch. Keep food, bird-feed and sowing specifications separate so that a satisfactory sample for one use does not become the specification for another.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification.