Sourcing dried vegetables from China

12% with several suspensions

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, dried vegetables of heading 0712 carried 12% duty on goods from China, dried potatoes 10% and dried sweetcorn £7.80 per 100 kg, with no anti-dumping measure. Autonomous suspensions change the picture: dried onions and dried garlic are 0% until 31 December 2026, and dried asparagus, broccoli, leeks, pumpkins and cabbages under the other-vegetables line are 0% until 31 December 2028 when the suspension is claimed. None of these suspensions covers mixtures or preparations.

Mushrooms other than Agaricus, including wood ears, jelly fungi and shiitake, have separate lines for goods imported for treatment other than simple repacking for retail sale, which enter at 0% and mostly need an authorised-use authorisation; the same mushrooms packed for retail pay 12%. Seasoned, oiled or fried vegetables leave this heading, so confirm the commodity code.

Food law and border controls

Dried vegetables must meet GB maximum residue levels for pesticides, which apply to the dried product with a processing factor, and the contaminant limits of assimilated Regulation 1881/2006. Sulphur dioxide used to keep dried onion, cabbage or mushrooms pale must be within the additive limits and, above 10 mg/kg, labelled as a sulphite allergen under the Food Information Regulation.

At the time of reading, the tariff showed no high-risk food import control on these dried vegetable lines from China, but the high-risk food list is reviewed at least twice a year, so check it for every new product and consignment.

Worked duty example

Made-up figures for illustration only: 5 tonnes of whole dried shiitake packed for retail under 0712 34 00 39, bought for £40,000 free on board with £2,500 of freight and insurance, so the customs value is £42,500. Duty at 12% is £5,100. Dried vegetables are zero-rated food for VAT, so no import VAT is due and the duty is the whole border cost. The same shiitake imported under authorised use for processing into ready meals, under 0712 34 00 31, would enter at 0%. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.

What goes wrong

Dried vegetables fail on residues, moisture and foreign matter. Pesticide residues concentrate as the water is removed, sulphite levels exceed the limit or are not declared, and product dried to too high a moisture content goes mouldy or clumps in the container. Stones, grit, hair and insect fragments come through on cheaper grades, and powders are sometimes bulked out with starch or mixed with another vegetable.

Specify the grade, cut size, moisture and sulphite limit in the contract, test a pre-shipment sample in a UK laboratory for pesticide residues, sulphites and microbiology, check moisture and foreign matter at inspection, use lined cartons or bags with desiccant for sea freight, and keep the lot code linked to the test report.

Cambridge China Bridge sources dried onion, garlic, mushrooms and other dehydrated vegetables, with residue tests and moisture limits agreed before shipment. Read how our food sourcing works.