Sourcing canned herring from China
Canned whole or piece herring from China carries 20% UK duty; other prepared herring, including minced preparations, carries 14%. Before importing into Great Britain, ask the relevant authority or your customs broker to confirm establishment approval, health certification and border arrangements. Wild-caught fish also needs catch documentation. Cambridge China Bridge sources canned herring.
Canned herring duty and border controls
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 1604 covers prepared or preserved fish, caviar and caviar substitutes. The supplied airtight-container herring lines carry 20% duty for Chinese-origin goods; other prepared herring carries 14%. None of these lines lists anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or a suspension. The repeated Atlantic herring code in the table shows packing variants sharing a classification.
The tariff attaches veterinary, illegal fishing and organic import controls. Ask the relevant authority or your customs broker to confirm establishment approval, health certification, advance notification and border control post arrangements for the prepared fish. Wild-caught herring needs a validated catch certificate. Organic consignments from China need a Great Britain certificate of inspection; check certification arrangements with your organic control body before ordering.
Confirm the commodity code from the species, preparation and whether the fish is whole, in pieces or minced. Ask your broker to confirm the veterinary entry document. The other-prepared-herring line also lists an export CITES control; confirm its relevance with your broker if re-exporting. See the canned mackerel guide for the wider heading.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping or countervailing duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic herring in airtight cans, oil-packed | 1604 12 91 19 | 20% | None |
| Other herring species in airtight cans | 1604 12 91 99 | 20% | None |
| Other prepared herring, including minced canned preparations | 1604 20 90 19 | 14% | None |
Specify the herring, packing medium and tin
Name the herring species and specify fillets, skin-on pieces or minced contents. Agree bone removal, trimming, texture and flavour against retained samples. Define oil, brine or sauce, the ingredient recipe, net weight and drained weight where applicable. Ask the supplier to identify where the fish was caught and where it was processed.
Specify the tin shape, opening method, internal coating, seam acceptance criteria and carton protection. Request heat-processing records, commercial sterility evidence and support for the proposed shelf life. Agree storage instructions before and after opening and approve label artwork before printing.
If the fish was processed or stored outside the fishing vessel's flag country, additional processing or storage documents are needed as applicable. Have your broker review this supply chain before shipment, rather than relying on the Chinese factory's invoice alone.
Worked duty example
Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative trial pallet of oil-packed Atlantic herring cans under 1604 12 91 19, invoiced at £4,000 free on board, with £1,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £5,000. Duty at 20% is £1,000. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £6,000, so it is £1,200. Import taxes total £2,200; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,000 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
Documents: match plant approval, health certificate, catch documents and batch identification to the actual herring shipment.
Tin integrity: inspect swelling, leaks, rust and dents around the seams; examine sampled seams against the agreed specification and isolate suspect tins.
Contents: check net and drained weights, trimming, bones and texture against the approved sample. Agree laboratory checks for histamine and commercial sterility before release.
Labels: check the food name, packing medium, ingredients, allergens, weights, storage instructions and UK business address. Keep batch markings readable and consistent with production records.
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What goes wrong
A supplier changes the herring species or replaces intact fillets with broken pieces without updating the specification. Excess liquid reduces the usable fish yield. Sauce changes can alter flavour and allergen information. Retain approved samples and compare the delivered contents with the agreed recipe and weights.
Damaged seams, leaking tins and swelling call for investigation before stock release. Catch documents can also fail to match fish processed in China from another country's vessels. Review the documents before dispatch and use quality inspection to record condition and specification checks.
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.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on canned herring from China?
The supplied airtight-container herring lines carry 20%; other prepared herring carries 14%. No anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or suspension is listed for these lines.
Can I import canned herring from any Chinese factory?
Do not assume any factory is eligible. Ask the relevant authority or your customs broker to confirm whether the establishment is approved to export the product to Great Britain and which health certification, advance notification and border arrangements apply.
Does canned herring need a catch certificate?
Wild-caught herring needs a validated catch certificate. Processing or storage outside the vessel's flag country also requires additional documentation as applicable.
What should I check when canned herring arrives?
Check seams, swelling, leaks, rust, batch markings and labels. Compare net and drained weights, trimming, bones and texture with the agreed specification; isolate suspect tins.