Sourcing cucumbers and gherkins from China

UK duty on fresh cucumbers and gherkins

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 17 November 2026, heading 0707 covers cucumbers and gherkins, fresh or chilled. The cucumber lines distinguish processing use and small cucumbers of a length not exceeding 15 cm. Gherkins have a separate line. These descriptions concern fresh produce, including produce bought for later pickling.

Every listed line carries 12% duty for goods from China. The supplied tariff record shows no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. It attaches an import control of organic products to every line. For organic supply, the certificate of inspection is issued by the exporter’s control body in the country of export; confirm the applicable clearance requirements with your customs broker before shipment.

Give your broker the product description, length specification, intended use and preservation method to confirm the commodity code. Ask separately about plant-health requirements for Chinese-origin produce and the destination. The border guidance here concerns Great Britain; the cited marketing guidance applies to England and Wales.

Specify variety, size and condition

State whether you want salad cucumbers or a gherkin variety for pickling. Agree length and diameter ranges, straightness, skin colour, seed development, firmness and acceptable surface marks. For processing, have the buyer approve samples against the intended slicing or pickling process.

Agree harvest condition, pre-cooling, a product-specific transport temperature, ventilated packing and remaining saleable life at arrival. Do not copy a frozen-vegetable temperature specification. Specify carton net weight and how lots are identified.

Fresh produce must meet applicable quality and labelling requirements. Confirm the applicable GB pesticide residue limits with the relevant food safety authority. Request a lot-linked residue report and agree the testing plan through testing and certification.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative only: 10,000 kg of fresh gherkins for a pickling business under 0707 00 90 00, invoiced at £18,000 free on board, with £3,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £21,500. Duty at 12% is £2,580. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £24,080, so it is £4,816. Import taxes total £7,396; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,580 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

Size and variety: compare samples with the approved variety, length and diameter specification; check seed development and suitability for processing.

Condition: check firmness, shrivelling, yellowing, bruises, soft ends, decay and skin pitting across cartons from different positions.

Packing and temperature: check ventilation, crushing, condensation, net weights and temperature records against the agreed handling specification.

Documents: match lot identifiers to residue reports and packing records; for organic orders, check the certificate details with the broker. Use the quality inspection guide to plan the checks.

What goes wrong

A shipment can meet the agreed length but still contain overdeveloped seeds, soft flesh or mixed varieties that do not suit pickling. Poor ventilation, crushing and unsuitable temperatures can leave cucumbers shrivelled, pitted or decaying. Examine arrival samples rather than relying on loading photographs.

An organic claim on cartons is not enough to settle import clearance. Resolve the tariff's organic control before dispatch, and keep the product description consistent across the order, packing records and broker instructions. A residue report that cannot be matched to the shipped lot gives the buyer little useful assurance.

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.