Sourcing fresh passion fruit from China

Duty on fresh passion fruit

Heading 0810 covers other fresh fruit. Fresh passion fruit has its own line, 0810 90 20 50, while granadilla is separately listed under 0810 90 20 40. The table includes neighbouring dragon fruit and jackfruit lines for comparison; they are different products.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, fresh passion fruit and the comparison lines carried 0% duty for goods from China. The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing measure and no suspension for these lines. It attaches an organic import control: organic claims need an inspection certificate for each consignment. The exporter’s control body issues that certificate.

Confirm the botanical identity and fresh condition before choosing the commodity code. Ask your customs broker to confirm the applicable plant-health requirements with APHA before shipment. For the wider heading context, see the fresh dragon fruit guide.

Specify ripeness, pulp and packing

Specify purple or yellow passion fruit, variety, growing origin, size range, maturity at dispatch and acceptable skin wrinkling at arrival. Agree pulp colour, aroma, acidity and usable pulp yield against a representative sample. A glossy shell photograph cannot establish the quality inside.

Agree carton weight, ventilation, cushioning, handling temperature and the condition expected on arrival. Ask for harvest and packing records tied to each lot, and pesticide testing against the UK limits for the crop. Fresh fruit must meet quality and labelling requirements throughout production and marketing. Put label artwork and lot identification in the purchase specification.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 5 tonnes of fresh passion fruit under 0810 90 20 50, invoiced at £20,000 free on board, with £3,800 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £23,800. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £23,800, so it is £4,760. 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: compare the variety, growing origin, carton markings and lot records with the order; distinguish ordinary passion fruit from granadilla.

Shell: check for splits, leaking juice, mould, soft patches and pest damage. Record wrinkling separately from decay against the agreed acceptance sample.

Pulp: cut fruit from different cartons and compare fill, colour, aroma and acidity with the approved sample. Look for fermentation and watery or poorly developed pulp.

Packing and records: check carton condition, weight and temperature records, and match laboratory results to the shipment lot. For organic orders, check the consignment inspection certificate before dispatch. Use the quality inspection guide to brief the inspector.

What goes wrong

A shipment can look acceptable outside but contain little usable pulp or fruit at mixed stages of maturity. Buyers can also mistake normal wrinkling for spoilage, while overlooking leaking or fermenting fruit. Agree the arrival standard using cut-fruit samples as well as shell photographs.

Crushed cartons, moisture and interrupted temperature control can leave fruit split or mouldy on arrival. A laboratory report for a different lot does not show the condition of your shipment. Organic paperwork can also be missing even when cartons carry organic claims. Match records before loading and photograph arrival defects before sorting.

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.