Sourcing canned artichoke hearts from China

Duty on canned globe artichoke hearts

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 2005 covers vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen, excluding products of heading 2006. Canned globe artichoke hearts fall within the non-powdered globe artichoke line, 2005 99 30 90. The table shows product variants sharing that line.

The recorded duty for goods from China is 16%, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension on this line. The UK Trade Tariff attaches veterinary control and organic import control. Ask your customs broker to confirm the veterinary requirement against the complete recipe before shipment. Organic consignments require an organic certificate of inspection, issued by the exporter’s control body.

Give your broker the vegetable identity, recipe, preservation method and pack details to confirm the commodity code. Do not assume that an artichoke product preserved by vinegar belongs here. See the bamboo shoots and preserved vegetables guide for the wider heading.

Specify trimming, texture and drained yield

Specify globe artichoke hearts rather than Jerusalem artichokes. Agree whole, halved or quartered hearts, size consistency, removal of the fibrous choke and tough outer leaves, and the permitted broken pieces. Approve an opened-can sample for tenderness, colour and flavour.

Fix the packing liquid, salt, acidity, seasonings, additives, net contents and drained weight. Agree the can lining, closure, shelf life and storage instructions. Request the factory’s validated heat-process records and batch incubation results. Labels need drained weight; confirm requirements for ingredients, a best-before date, a UK food business address and sulphite declaration and allergen emphasis with the relevant food authority before approving artwork.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative pallet order of canned artichoke hearts; values are illustrative under 2005 99 30 90, invoiced at £3,000 free on board, with £200 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £3,200. Duty at 16% is £512. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £3,712, so it is £742.40. Import taxes total £1,254.40; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £512 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

Hearts: open samples and check cut style, size, broken pieces, choke removal and tough leaves against the approved sample.

Fill: drain and weigh the hearts against the declared drained weight; compare liquid, salt and acidity with the agreed recipe.

Cans: check seams, leaks, swelling, seam-area dents and internal coating damage; review heat-process and incubation records for the batch.

Labels and records: compare ingredients, sulphite declarations, date marking and business address with approved artwork; match batch codes to reports. Use the quality inspection guide to prepare the inspection brief.

What goes wrong

A can can meet its total weight while providing too little usable heart. Tough leaves, retained choke, broken pieces and uneven trimming reduce the usable yield. Over-soft hearts collapse during cooking, while inconsistent salt or acidity changes the finished dish.

Leaking seams, swelling and coating damage need investigation before stock is released. Review process records and arrange appropriate laboratory checks, including tin and sulphites where relevant. Keep suspect batches separate while the cause is assessed; visual inspection alone does not establish food safety.

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.