Sourcing fresh hyacinth beans from China

Hyacinth beans: 10% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 0708 covers fresh or chilled leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled. Hyacinth beans, Lablab purpureus, correspond to the line for seem beans and helmet beans, 0708 90 00 30. The table shows buying formats within this same commodity line.

The supplied tariff record gives 10% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing measure and no suspension listed. It attaches an organic import control. Organic products imported from China into Great Britain require a certificate of inspection. Confirm the paperwork with your customs broker before shipping an organic order.

Confirm the botanical identity and presentation with your broker using our commodity code guide. Do not classify from the supplier's word ‘beans’ alone. See the fresh peas and beans guide for the wider heading.

Specify tender pods and the packing route

Ask the supplier to identify Lablab purpureus and provide photographs of the offered variety. Specify green or purple pods, whole pods or shelled beans, maturity, pod width and length, acceptable stringiness and the treatment of stalk ends. Agree a reference sample and written rejection criteria for fibrous pods, split seams and visible seed bulges.

For a fresh order, assess the grower and packing operation as well as the exporter. Agree harvest-to-packing handling, pre-cooling, ventilated packaging, transport temperature and saleable condition at arrival. Request a lot-specific pesticide residue report against applicable GB limits. Fresh produce must meet quality and labelling requirements; settle the label artwork before packing.

Ask your broker to confirm the plant health risk category for Chinese hyacinth beans before booking freight. Official guidance requires a phytosanitary certificate for medium B risk fruit and vegetables. Do not assume the organic control shown in the tariff record settles plant health clearance.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative wholesale consignment of chilled hyacinth bean pods under 0708 90 00 30, 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 10% is £2,150. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £23,650, so it is £4,730. Import taxes total £6,880; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,150 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

Identity and maturity: compare the beans with the agreed variety and sample; open pods to check seed development and examine seams for toughness.

Condition: inspect for wilting, yellowing, mould, insect damage, split pods, soil and foreign matter across the shipment.

Cold chain and packing: compare temperature records with the agreed conditions; check condensation, crushed cartons, blocked ventilation and actual net weights.

Documents and labels: match carton lot marks to the packing list and residue report; compare labels with approved artwork and check the certificate of inspection for an organic shipment. Use our inspection guide to brief the inspector.

What goes wrong

A supplier's ‘fresh beans’ description can conceal a different species or a mature, fibrous crop. Attractive photographs do not establish tenderness. Inspect the shipment's actual pods and seeds against the sample, and record defects before accepting delivery.

Warm packing, poor ventilation and rough handling can leave pods wilted, wet or bruised. Agree responsibility for rejected stock and a route for reviewing arrival photographs and temperature records. Resolve organic documentation and the plant health category before dispatch rather than while a perishable consignment waits for clearance.

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.