Sourcing candied grapefruit peel from China

Sugar content decides grapefruit peel duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 2006 covers vegetables, fruit, nuts, fruit peel and other plant parts preserved by sugar, whether drained, glacé or crystallised. This guide concerns grapefruit peel. The table repeats a code for strips and dice because the cut does not create a separate tariff line.

For grapefruit peel in the other-fruit-and-peel lines, goods from China carry 20% plus £20 per 100 kg when sugar exceeds 13% by weight, or 20% when it does not. The recorded lines have no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. The tariff attaches an organic import control. Organic consignments from China into Great Britain need a Certificate of Inspection, and the importing company must be based and certified in the UK.

Confirm the commodity code using the formulation, preservation process and measured sugar content. Do not choose a tropical-fruit line merely because the supplier describes its citrus as tropical. See the candied pomelo peel guide for the wider heading. Confirm the VAT treatment of candied peel for home baking with HMRC or your customs broker, considering the actual presentation before budgeting through our duty and VAT guide.

Specify grapefruit identity, pith and bitterness

Name grapefruit explicitly and agree whether substitution with pomelo is acceptable. Specify strips or dice, peel thickness, retained white pith, acceptable bitterness and citrus flavour against an approved sample. State whether the finish is drained, glacé or crystallised, and whether the peel is intended for baking or direct eating.

Agree sugar content, moisture, water activity, piece-size tolerance, preservatives, colours, sulphite residue, microbiological acceptance criteria, pack format and storage conditions. Approval of an additive in China does not establish approval in Great Britain. Confirm whether the additives are permitted for the intended food category with your local food enforcement authority.

For retail packs, draft a label covering the food name, ingredients, allergens, net quantity, date mark, storage conditions and UK business name and address, and confirm the applicable requirements with your local food enforcement authority. Ask the authority to confirm sulphite allergen declarations and whether any colour used requires the children's activity and attention warning.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 5 tonnes of grapefruit peel preserved by sugar, confirmed sugar content 13% or less under 2006 00 99 99, invoiced at £15,000 free on board, with £1,200 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £16,200. Duty at 20% is £3,240. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £19,440, so it is £3,888. Import taxes total £7,128; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £3,240 of duty. 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 and taste: compare the peel with the approved grapefruit sample for citrus character, bitterness, pith thickness, toughness and cut consistency.

Condition: inspect opened packs for clumping, leaking syrup, unwanted crystallisation, fermentation odour, mould and foreign matter; check seals and carton moisture.

Laboratory: verify batch sugar content, moisture, sulphite residue, declared colours, yeasts and moulds against the agreed specification.

Labels and documents: match ingredients and allergen emphasis to the formulation and test results, check net quantity and storage instructions, and check organic paperwork where applicable. Use our inspection guide to plan the checks.

What goes wrong

A sample can taste acceptable while the shipment contains thicker pith, tougher pieces or stronger bitterness. Agree a retained sample and test the peel in the buyer's actual baking or confectionery application. Record whether surface sugar, loose syrup and broken pieces are acceptable.

Other failures include excess moisture, damaged seals, undeclared preservatives or colours, and sugar content crossing 13% and changing the duty calculation. Keep the formulation, batch report and label consistent. For organic orders, resolve certification and consignment paperwork before shipment with the control body and customs broker.

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.