Sourcing fresh leeks from China

Fresh leek duty and import controls

Heading 0703 covers fresh or chilled onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetables. Fresh leeks fall within 0703 90 00 00. Only this supplied commodity line is relevant to fresh leeks. For another product within the heading, see fresh shallots.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, fresh leeks from China carried 10% duty. The supplied facts record no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. They attach an import control of organic products. For organic orders, confirm the requirement with your customs broker and organic control body; the certificate of inspection is issued by the exporter’s control body in the country of export.

Confirm the product identity, fresh or chilled condition and presentation with your broker using finding your commodity code. Fresh vegetables are subject to marketing standards: confirm any applicable plant health requirements and pre-notification process with the relevant UK authority before shipment. Confirm the VAT treatment of vegetables sold as food with HMRC or your customs broker.

Specify the white shank and trimming

Specify leek variety, shank diameter band, usable white length, overall trimmed length and whether roots and outer leaves remain. Agree cleanliness, permitted soil between leaf layers, leaf colour, firmness and limits for splitting, bruising and decay against an approved sample.

Agree bunches or loose packing, net weight, carton ventilation, pre-cooling and the transit temperature specification. Ask for pesticide residue results covering the shipped lot, checked against GB maximum residue levels. Fresh produce must meet quality and labelling requirements throughout production and marketing.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 20 tonnes of fresh leeks under 0703 90 00 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 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

Shank and trim: measure diameter and usable white length against the order, and check root trimming and leaf removal.

Condition: open samples from different cartons and check firmness, yellowing, split shanks, crushed leaves, slime and foreign matter between leaf layers.

Cold chain and packing: compare temperature records with the agreed specification, inspect wet or collapsed cartons and verify net weights.

Lot documents: match carton lot references to residue reports and shipment documents. Include the organic paperwork review when buying organic leeks. Use quality inspection to set the inspection brief.

What goes wrong

A long leek can still have too little usable white shank. Heavy trimming can leave the buyer short of usable weight, while soil hidden between leaves creates extra washing work. Define the accepted trim and inspect the usable portion, rather than judging only the outside of a bunch.

Warm handling and wet packing can leave wilted leaves, soft shanks or decay on arrival. A farm certificate alone does not show the residue results for the shipped lot. Review lot documents before dispatch and compare arrival condition with the agreed sample and temperature records.

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.