Sourcing fresh peas and beans from China

Peas pay 8%; other lines pay 10%

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 November 2026, heading 0708 covers fresh or chilled leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled. Chinese-origin peas carry 8% duty; the remaining lines carry 10%. The supplied tariff extract lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duties and no suspensions.

Organic import control appears on every line. For organic goods from China entering Great Britain, obtain a certificate of inspection for each consignment. The Vigna and Phaseolus bean lines also carry a Unit price entry. Ask your customs broker to confirm its application: HMRC says simplified procedure values cannot be used where a transaction value exists.

Specify the botanical species, whether shelled, and whether fresh or chilled before confirming the commodity code. The import guidance here concerns Great Britain; obtain destination-specific advice for Northern Ireland. Ask your broker to confirm the plant-health risk category and documents before booking transport. For high or medium risk A goods, official guidance requires a phytosanitary certificate from the exporter.

Specify pod maturity and usable shelf life

Agree species and variety, whole pods or shelled peas, pod length and straightness, seed development, tenderness, trimming and acceptable blemishes. For yard long beans, specify how bundles are arranged to avoid bending and breakage. For peas, distinguish edible pods from peas intended for shelling.

Set a product-specific cooling and transport plan with the packhouse. Record harvest and packing dates, agreed arrival condition, remaining shelf life, ventilation, pack weight and carton strength. Fresh produce must meet applicable quality and labelling requirements. Confirm applicable pesticide-residue limits with the relevant food-safety authority and request a lot-specific laboratory report.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 5 tonnes of fresh yard long beans; illustrative order only under 0708 20 00 10, 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 10% is £2,250. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £24,750, so it is £4,950. Import taxes total £7,200; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,250 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 and peas: sample across cartons for tenderness, fibrous strings, overdeveloped seeds, yellowing, shrivelling, splits and decay against the agreed specification.

Cold chain: compare dispatch and arrival temperatures with the agreed range, review logger records and inspect for condensation, wet cartons and chilling damage.

Weight and packing: check net contents, bundle damage, ventilation and carton collapse. Match product identity, origin and lot details across packs and shipping documents.

Documents: match residue reports to shipped lots and check the agreed import paperwork before loading. Use the same acceptance criteria at dispatch and arrival; see quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A green pod can still be tough and stringy. Buying on photographs alone misses maturity and eating quality. Warm handling encourages deterioration, while excessive cooling can damage sensitive beans. Poor ventilation and condensation leave wet packs and decay; tight bundles crush long beans.

Unresolved import paperwork can disrupt the delivery plan for a perishable load. Settle the organic certificate, where applicable, and confirm plant-health arrangements before dispatch. Agree how arrival defects will be recorded, with carton identities, photographs, temperature records and retained samples.

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.