Sourcing canned hearts of palm from China

16% duty for the residual vegetable line

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. The supplied facts contain no dedicated hearts-of-palm line. For plain canned forms, confirm residual code 2005 99 80 98, carrying 16% duty from China. This line lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension.

The UK Trade Tariff attaches veterinary control and import control of organic products. Official vegetable-import guidance says a health certificate is not normally needed, but ask your customs broker to confirm the veterinary requirement for the exact Chinese recipe. For organic goods, confirm certificate and eligibility requirements with your broker; the exporter’s control body issues the inspection certificate.

The table shows product forms against the same residual tariff line, rather than separate tariff subdivisions. Confirm the recipe and preservation method using finding your commodity code. See the bamboo shoots and preserved vegetables guide for the wider heading.

Specify the palm core, cut and packing liquid

Agree the palm species, raw-material origin, whole cores or cut pieces, diameter and length tolerances, tenderness, colour and acceptable fibrous material. Keep an approved sample for comparison. Specify the packing liquid, salt and acidity, ingredients, drained weight, can size, lining and shelf life.

Ask the factory for thermal process and incubation records linked to the supplied recipe and can format. Review the label before printing: hearts of palm packed in liquid must show drained net weight. Check ingredients, best-before information and the UK food business address against the agreed artwork.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 3,000 kg of canned hearts of palm under 2005 99 80 98, invoiced at £16,000 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £18,500. Duty at 16% is £2,960. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £21,460, so it is £4,292. Import taxes total £7,252; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,960 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

Contents: drain and weigh sampled cans, then compare cut size, colour, tenderness and fibrous pieces with the approved specification.

Cans: check seams, leakage, swelling, corrosion and lining damage; examine cartons for crushing and wet storage damage.

Records: match can and carton batch marks to processing records, incubation results and laboratory reports; request tin and sulphite testing where relevant.

Labels: check drained weight, ingredients, date marking and business address against approved artwork. Use the quality inspection guide to set the inspection brief.

What goes wrong

Tender sample cores can be replaced by fibrous outer material, cut pieces can vary, and cans can contain less drained product than agreed. Broken pieces and soft texture reduce usable yield even when the total can weight looks correct.

Poor processing or sealing can produce swollen or leaking cans, while damaged lining and corrosion need investigation. Hold suspect batches apart while records and test results are reviewed. Do not assume that a bamboo-shoot suspension applies to hearts of palm.

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.