Sourcing whole peeled tomatoes from China

14% duty across both packing sizes

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 5 October 2026, heading 2002 covers tomatoes prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid. Whole peeled tomatoes use 2002 10 19 00 for immediate packings with net content up to 1 kg, or 2002 10 11 00 above 1 kg. The table repeats these codes to distinguish conventional and organic buying specifications.

Both lines carry 14% duty for goods from China. Neither has an anti-dumping or countervailing measure or a suspension in the supplied tariff facts. The heading's narrowly specified tomato paste suspension does not cover whole peeled tomatoes. Confirm the commodity code using the recipe and immediate packing's net content. For wider heading coverage, see the canned diced tomatoes guide.

The tariff attaches import control of organic products. For organic shipments from China into Great Britain, obtain a Great Britain certificate of inspection for each consignment. Your importing company must be based and certified in the UK. Ask your organic control body and customs broker to confirm the shipment documents before loading.

Specify whole fruit, filling medium and can lining

Define tomato size, ripeness, colour, firmness and the acceptable proportion of broken fruit, remaining skin and stalk material. Specify tomato juice or purée as the filling medium, its consistency, added salt and any other ingredients. Agree net content, a drained-weight test method, can dimensions, opening style and remaining shelf life at arrival.

Approve an opened-can sample as well as the artwork. Request batch test reports for pesticide residues and tin against applicable GB limits, and ask the factory to explain its heat process and seam checks. Agree lining suitability for acidic tomatoes and traceability to the growing and processing locations.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative pallet order of whole peeled tomatoes in retail cans under 2002 10 19 00, invoiced at £3,000 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £5,500. Duty at 14% is £770. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £6,270, so it is £1,254. Import taxes total £2,024; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £770 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

Fruit: open sampled cans and compare intact fruit, peel removal, firmness, colour and filling-medium consistency with the approved sample.

Fill: weigh contents against the agreed net content and drain samples using the agreed method. Where the product is solid food packed in a liquid, the label must show drained net weight.

Cans: check seams, leaks, swelling, rust, dents near closures and internal lining damage. Arrange seam assessment and stability testing with the factory or laboratory.

Labels and batches: compare the recipe, origin wording, business name and address, batch markings and agreed shelf life with the approved artwork and batch records. Plan checks using the quality inspection guide.

What goes wrong

A whole peeled order can arrive with crushed fruit, loose skin, watery filling or less tomato than the sample suggested. Overprocessing can soften the fruit and darken its colour. An external can inspection will miss these differences, so compare opened samples from production with the approved sample.

Leaking seams, swollen cans and damaged lining need investigation before stock is released for sale. Separate suspect stock and retain the batch records and test reports. Resolve organic paperwork before dispatch, rather than relying on an organic claim printed on the can.

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.