Sourcing egg yolk powder from China

Egg yolk powder duty and import controls

Heading 0408 covers eggs out of shell and egg yolks in dried and other preserved forms, including products containing added sweeteners. Food-grade egg yolk powder falls within the dried yolk line 0408 11 80 00. The table includes other dried egg products solely to help distinguish yolk powder from whole egg powder.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, food-grade dried yolk carried £119 per 100 kg duty from China, while dried yolk unfit for human consumption carried 0%. The supplied lines show no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. They attach veterinary control and organic import control. The percentage-duty example concerns non-food yolk only; it does not calculate duty on food-grade powder or establish permission to import.

Confirm the intended use, composition and commodity code with your customs broker. For food imports into Great Britain, arrange the health certificate and entry through a border control post approved for the commodity. Ask the broker to confirm IPAFFS pre-notification and animal-product common health entry document requirements. Organic consignments need a certificate of inspection. See whole egg powder for the wider dried egg comparison.

Specify yolk content and emulsifying performance

Specify yolk powder rather than whole egg powder, the bird species, added salt or sugar, and any processing aids. Agree moisture, fat and protein specifications, colour, odour, particle size and reconstitution instructions. Test the sample in your actual mayonnaise, sauce or bakery recipe: a powder that disperses acceptably may still give the wrong emulsion or texture.

Before ordering, ask APHA to confirm China's current egg-product approval, residue-plan status and any China-specific safeguard attestation or testing paperwork. Check the actual producing factory, rather than just the exporter's name. Agree pasteurisation records, batch microbiological testing and storage instructions. For an organic order, check the exporter’s control body and country against the recognised registers.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative 20-tonne batch of dried yolk unfit for human consumption; separate import eligibility checks apply under 0408 11 20 00, invoiced at £42,000 free on board, with £3,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £45,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £45,500, so it is £9,100. 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: match the declared yolk composition, added ingredients and batch identifiers to the specification and laboratory report.

Performance: compare colour, odour, dispersion and emulsifying behaviour with the retained approved sample using the agreed recipe.

Condition: check liners, seals and bags for damage, dampness, clumps and foreign material; investigate any rancid smell before accepting the batch.

Documents and labels: match the health certificate to the consignment and review organic paperwork where applicable. Allergenic ingredients must be emphasised whenever they appear in an ingredients list. Include these checks in your inspection brief.

What goes wrong

Whole egg powder supplied in place of yolk powder changes fat content and recipe performance. Undeclared salt, sugar or other additions can also alter the finished product. Compare the production batch with the approved sample and investigate differences rather than adjusting your recipe to hide them.

Damp packaging can leave hard clumps, while deterioration can produce an off smell and poor flavour. Hold suspect stock pending investigation. A tariff entry alone does not establish import eligibility: settle country approval, factory details and paperwork before dispatch. The non-food duty line describes goods unfit for human consumption and should not be used to budget an edible ingredient.

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.