Sourcing Copra Meal from China

Copra meal duty and tariff controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 October 2026, heading 2306 covers oilcake and other solid residues from extracting vegetable or microbial fats or oils, including ground material and pellets. Copra meal is the coconut or copra extraction residue under 2306 50 00 00. The table shows product forms sharing this code.

The supplied record gives 0% duty for goods from China and lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. It attaches organic import, waste import and waste export controls. For organic purchases, confirm inspection certificate requirements with your customs broker; the exporter’s control body issues the certificate. If material from China is waste subject to notification controls, the exporter must apply to the dispatch country’s competent authority for consent. Confirm the applicable waste procedure before shipment.

Confirm the commodity code using the coconut raw material, oil-extraction process and any subsequent blending. Do not classify a prepared feed solely from a supplier’s description of it as copra meal. For related extraction residues within the wider heading, see our palm kernel meal guide.

Specify extraction method and residual oil

State whether you are buying pressed cake or solvent-extracted meal, loose or pelleted. Agree crude protein, residual oil, fibre, moisture, ash and particle size. Ask the supplier to identify the manufacturing plant, raw-material origin and any added ingredients. Specify the intended animal-feed use and keep the approved sample for comparison with shipment samples.

For feed use, confirm feed-business registration requirements with the competent authority. Ask that authority to confirm feed material naming, statutory declarations and applicable undesirable substance limits. Agree laboratory testing for aflatoxins and heavy metals alongside the composition tests. Fix sampling, packaging and storage conditions in writing; use testing and certification support to prepare the laboratory brief.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 12 tonnes of copra meal for animal feed under 2306 50 00 00, invoiced at £3,500 free on board, with £2,680 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £6,180. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £6,180, so it is £1,236. 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. 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: compare cake, meal or pellet form with the contract; investigate unexpected shell fragments, grit or added material.

Analysis: independently sample the shipment and compare protein, oil, fibre, moisture and ash with the agreed specification; check contaminant results.

Arrival condition: check for heating, mould, insects, caking and rancid odour; photograph affected bags and retain separate samples.

Documents and packs: match batch references to analysis reports and delivery documents; check bag integrity, net weight, feed declarations and any organic paperwork.

What goes wrong

Residual oil and fibre can differ between the approved sample and the shipment, changing its suitability for the buyer’s feed formulation. Unexpected shell or grit raises concerns about composition. Compare independent loading and arrival samples rather than relying on a supplier-selected sample. Our quality inspection guide explains how to define the inspection brief.

Damp meal can cake, grow mould or heat during transit. Rancid odour and missing batch analysis need investigation before the lot is accepted for use. Agree moisture and oil specifications, storage conditions and the document checklist before loading. Resolve organic certification and any waste-status question before dispatch.

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.