Sourcing ceramic plant pots from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, other ceramic articles, heading 6914, which includes ceramic flower and plant pots, carried 0% on goods from China on all five lines, whether of porcelain or china, common pottery or other ceramics, with no anti-dumping measure.

Plastic and resin planters are classified as plastic articles at 6% (see our resin and plastic planters guide), and purely ornamental ceramics under 6913 (see our ceramic ornaments guide). Confirm the commodity code from the material and use.

Product safety and frost

Pots sold to consumers must be safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005: stable when filled, without sharp glaze edges, and with hanging fittings rated for the filled weight. Large pots are heavy, so give weights on the label and packaging.

Outdoor pots must survive UK freeze-thaw winters. Terracotta and lightly fired bodies absorb water and can crack or spall, so ask for water absorption and freeze-thaw results for the body and firing, and sell pots that fail as indoor only.

Specifying pots

Specify body (stoneware, porcelain, terracotta), sizes and nesting sets, wall thickness and weight, glaze colours against a physical master, drainage holes and saucers, feet or pads, frost claim, and packing (nested sets with dividers, strapped crates or pallets). Nesting sets well is how freight per pot is kept down. For decal decoration, see our ceramic decals and transfers guide.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: a container of glazed stoneware plant pots, commodity code 6914 90 00 90, bought for £15,000 free on board, with £4,500 of freight and insurance, so £19,500 is the value customs works from. No duty is due on glazed plant pots; import VAT at 20% of £19,500 is £3,900. If you are VAT-registered, that VAT is normally reclaimable. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

Inspection checklist

Frost and water: ask for water absorption and freeze-thaw results for the body and firing shipped, and check sample pots after soaking for seepage through the base and walls.

Glaze and shape: check glaze colour against the master sample in daylight, check for crawling, pinholes, crazing and glaze runs on the base, and check pots stand level and nest without sticking.

Breakage and packing: tap-test sampled pots for cracks, drop-test packed cartons or crates from the agreed height, and count breakage at loading.

What goes wrong

Ceramic pots fail on frost, glaze and breakage. Pots sold for outdoor use crack in the first hard frost, glaze colour differs from the sample or between firings, glazes craze or run, drainage holes are missing or too small, and pots break in transit because nests were packed without dividers.

Test frost resistance before selling pots as outdoor, approve a master sample, and drop-test the packing. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources ceramic plant pots for garden centres, homeware and online retailers, and can plan full containers of nested sets. See container programmes. For plant labels, see sourcing wooden plant labels.

Related guides: Sourcing ceramic vases and home décor from China.