Sourcing Chilled Salmon from China

Pacific salmon duty and related salmonid lines

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 0302 covers fresh or chilled fish, excluding fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304. This guide focuses on chilled salmon. The table includes related salmonid and edible offal lines for comparison. The supplied data contains no Atlantic salmon line, so obtain its classification and rate separately. See the fresh and chilled fish guide for the wider heading.

For goods from China, Pacific salmon under 0302 13 00 00 carries 2%. The supplied other-salmonidae line carries 8%, while the listed salmon livers, roes and milt and other-salmonidae offal carry 10%. No anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or suspension is recorded on these selected lines. Do not use a related salmonid code without confirming the species. Use the commodity code guide.

All selected lines carry veterinary and organic import controls. Confirm the Common Health Entry Document for products with your customs broker. The whole-fish lines also carry illegal fishing controls: ask your broker to confirm validated catch-certificate requirements for wild-caught fish and any exemption for qualifying farmed fish. Confirm the certificate of inspection requirements for organic food consignments from China with your broker. The selected offal lines also carry CITES export controls; ask your broker to confirm applicability.

Specify species, dressing and chilled condition

Specify the scientific species, wild or farmed origin, harvest location, whole or gutted presentation, head-on or head-off condition, individual weight band and net fish weight excluding ice. Agree flesh colour, firmness, belly cleaning, permitted skin damage, packing method and remaining shelf life on arrival. Ask for harvest, packing and temperature records rather than relying on photographs.

For entry into Great Britain, verify approval for the exporting country and exact establishment before ordering. Ask the port health authority to confirm the health certificate requirements, whether advance notification should be made through IPAFFS and which designated border control post to use. For farmed salmon from China, ask port health to confirm any additional residue-testing declaration before dispatch. Our factory verification service supports supplier checks.

Commercial designations must be used when marketing fish in the UK and at the point of sale. Check the proposed sales name against the scientific species. Prepare retail labels with the species name, production method and area, allergen information, storage instructions and a UK address.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative hypothetical order: 2 tonnes of chilled whole Pacific salmon; FOB value and freight are illustrative, not a quotation. under 0302 13 00 00, invoiced at £16,000 free on board, with £4,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £20,000. Duty at 2% is £400. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £20,400, so it is £4,080. Import taxes total £4,480; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £400 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

Identity and documents: match species, production method, establishment details and batch markings across cartons, certificates, invoice and packing list.

Temperature and handling: measure fish temperature on arrival, review transit records and inspect ice distribution, insulation, drainage and leaking boxes against the agreed specification.

Freshness and dressing: inspect eyes and gills where present, odour, flesh firmness, belly condition, bruising and cleaning; photograph exceptions before accepting the lot.

Weight and packs: sample fish across cartons, compare weight grades and net fish weight excluding ice, and check labels and remaining shelf life. See our inspection guide.

What goes wrong

A supplier's use of “salmon” can conceal a different species or an unsuitable classification. A Chinese dispatch address also tells you little about where the fish was harvested. Resolve species, production origin, establishment approval and certificate descriptions before shipment. Keep Atlantic salmon classification separate from the supplied Pacific salmon line.

Cold-chain gaps, crushed boxes and poor drainage can leave soft flesh, damaged bellies and excessive liquid on arrival. Ice weight can also disguise a shortfall in fish weight. Agree acceptance criteria, sampling and a claims process before dispatch, and reserve stock with unexplained temperature or freshness problems for assessment.

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.