Sourcing fresh mangetout from China

Mangetout duty at 8%

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 0708 covers fresh or chilled leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled. Fresh mangetout falls under the pea line, 0708 10 00 00, at 8% for goods from China. The supplied snapshot records no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension for that line.

The tariff attaches an organic import control. For organic mangetout, confirm the inspection certificate requirements with your customs broker before ordering. Your company must be based and certified in the UK to import organic products; official guidance says the inspection certificate is issued by the exporter's control body in the exporting country.

The table shows product presentations sharing the same pea code, rather than separate tariff lines. Confirm your exact presentation using finding your commodity code. For other products within this heading, see fresh peas and beans.

Specify tender, flat mangetout pods

Describe the product as flat edible pea pods with immature peas. Agree variety, pod length and width, colour, tenderness, trimming, string removal, pack weight and acceptable defects. Use photographs and an approved sample to distinguish the agreed mangetout from rounder sugar snap peas or mature pea pods.

Ask the grower and packhouse for harvest and packing records, pre-cooling arrangements, transport temperature records and the remaining shelf life you expect on arrival. Agree how crushed pods, yellowing, decay and insect damage will be assessed.

Confirm applicable Great Britain maximum pesticide residue limits with the relevant food safety authority. Ask for a lot-specific report from an accredited laboratory and match it to the shipment. Fresh fruit and vegetables must also meet marketing quality and labelling requirements. Before dispatch, ask APHA and your broker to confirm the plant-health category and paperwork for Chinese fresh pea pods; medium-risk B fruit and vegetables require a phytosanitary certificate.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order only: 5 tonnes of chilled mangetout under 0708 10 00 00, invoiced at £18,000 free on board, with £4,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £22,500. Duty at 8% is £1,800. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £24,300, so it is £4,860. Import taxes total £6,660; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,800 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

Pods: check flat shape, tenderness, colour, trimming and strings against the approved sample; record swollen peas, tough pods, splits and insect damage.

Condition: inspect packs from different carton positions for wilting, yellowing, mould, slime, crushing and excess moisture.

Cold chain: compare arrival pulp temperature and transport records with the agreed specification; check the remaining shelf life.

Records: match lot markings to packing records and residue reports, check pack weights and label artwork, and review the agreed import documents. Use the quality inspection guide to define the inspection brief.

What goes wrong

An attractive dispatch photograph can hide tough, overmature pods or inconsistent trimming. Poor pre-cooling, warm handling and crushed cartons can leave arrival stock wilted or wet. Agree acceptance criteria for the actual delivered product and retain photographs and temperature records when reporting defects.

A residue report for another harvest does not establish the condition of your shipment. Missing lot identification makes checks harder, while unresolved import paperwork can disrupt the delivery plan. Settle the document list before loading and agree who will review the arrival evidence.

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.