Sourcing combed yak fibre tops from China

Zero duty and species checks

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 5 October 2026, heading 5105 covers carded or combed wool and fine or coarse animal hair. Combed yak fibre tops fall within other carded or combed fine animal hair, 5105 39 00 00, at 0% duty for goods from China. The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension for this line. The table shows purchasing variants sharing the same code.

The tariff attaches CITES import and export controls to this line. Confirm the exact animal species with the supplier and ask your customs broker which declaration documents apply. CITES-listed specimens require an import permit, and specimens include animal parts and derivatives. Do not assume that the tariff flag means every yak shipment needs a permit. Confirm its application to the actual species before shipment.

Confirm the fibre composition and processing stage through finding your commodity code. Uncombed hair and spun yarn need separate classification checks. For the wider heading, see combed camel hair tops.

Specify dehaired yak tops for spinning

Specify yak fibre identity, any blend, mean fibre diameter and its variation, fibre length, short-fibre content and residual guard hair. Agree colour, residual grease, vegetable matter, top continuity and packing weight. State whether the tops are undyed, bleached or dyed, and approve a sample through a spinning trial before accepting the production lot.

For Great Britain, treated wool and hair can come from any country without a health certificate or veterinary checks. Ask APHA or your customs broker to confirm the commercial-document requirements, including whether to record the consignor, consignee, origin, quantity, species and treatment or processing method. Obtain the factory's treatment record, rather than relying on the word combed as evidence of washing. Textile labels must show fibre content. Match resale descriptions to the tested composition.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 180 kg of combed yak fibre tops under 5105 39 00 00, invoiced at £6,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £7,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £7,500, so it is £1,500. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: sample across the shipment and test the claimed yak content and any blend against the approved specification.

Guard hair and length: compare residual coarse hairs, mean diameter, short fibres and neps with the lot report and retained sample.

Spinning and colour: check top continuity and shade between packages, then trial the material for drafting behaviour and yarn handle.

Packing and records: check moisture, odour, contamination and net weight; match package identifiers to the lot report, invoice and treatment document.

What goes wrong

Incomplete dehairing leaves prickly guard hairs in the yarn. Excess short fibres and neps increase spinning waste, while another fibre blended into the tops changes the handle and invalidates the agreed composition. Bleaching or dyeing can make a sample look consistent while the production lot behaves differently in spinning.

Damp tops can arrive with odour or discolouration. A report for a different lot cannot establish the quality of the delivered material, and a generic hair description leaves the species check unresolved. Keep an approved sample and compare the actual shipment with it before releasing the lot for production.

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.