Sourcing frozen apricot halves from China

Duty depends on added sugar

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 0811 covers frozen fruit and nuts, uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water, with or without added sweetening. Unsweetened apricot halves fall within 0811 90 95 90: the full duty is 14%, with a 0% suspension. The published frozen-fruit guide records that suspension through 31 December 2028, excluding mixtures and preparations. Peeled and skin-on halves share the same tariff line.

Sweetened halves carry 20% under 0811 90 39 90, or 20% plus £7.00 per 100 kg under 0811 90 19 90 when sugar content exceeds 13% by weight. The supplied tariff record shows no anti-dumping or countervailing duty on these lines and no suspension on the sweetened lines. It attaches organic import control: organic consignments from China need a Great Britain inspection certificate issued by the exporter's control body. Check the recognised organic registers and confirm the paperwork with your customs broker.

Confirm the commodity code using the ingredient declaration, sugar content and processing description. The frozen peach slices guide provides related heading context. Confirm the exact product’s VAT treatment with HMRC or your customs broker, using the duty and VAT guide to prepare your questions.

Specify the apricot halves and their intended use

Agree variety, ripeness, colour, peeled or skin-on presentation, half size, intact-half acceptance, stone-fragment rejection and permitted bruising. Specify individually frozen or block-frozen fruit, added sugar and any colour-preserving treatment. Approve a thawed sample in the intended bakery, dessert or fruit preparation, checking firmness, flavour and liquid release.

Imports must meet the same hygiene standards and safety procedures as food produced in Great Britain. Confirm importer food safety and traceability obligations and applicable pesticide and contaminant limits with the relevant food safety authority. Agree batch testing and whether the fruit will be cooked before eating. For fruit labelled quick-frozen, confirm applicable temperature requirements with that authority and agree transport controls before dispatch.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 5 tonnes of sweetened frozen apricot halves under 0811 90 39 90, invoiced at £20,000 free on board, with £1,800 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £21,800. Duty at 20% is £4,360. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £26,160, so it is £5,232. Import taxes total £9,592; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £4,360 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

Halves: compare size, colour and ripeness with the approved sample; inspect stone cavities for stones and fragments, and record torn halves, bruising and foreign matter.

Cold chain: check core temperature on arrival against the agreed specification, examine transport records and look for clumping, large ice deposits, leaking liners and freezer burn.

Thaw test: assess firmness, flavour, browning and liquid release in your intended recipe; compare intact halves with the approved thawed sample.

Batch records: match carton markings, ingredient declarations and laboratory reports to the delivered lot; check pesticide and contaminant results, declared treatments and organic inspection documents where relevant.

What goes wrong

Stone fragments can remain in the cavities, uneven ripeness produces soft and firm halves in the same pack, and bruised surfaces brown after thawing. Fruit that looks acceptable while frozen can collapse in a dessert or release more liquid than your recipe allows. Set acceptance criteria using both frozen and thawed samples.

Clumping and ice deposits warrant a review of the temperature history, rather than acceptance based on appearance alone. An unrelated laboratory report does not establish the delivered batch's condition. Keep questionable stock separate while checking records and obtaining appropriate tests. Plan the checks with the quality inspection guide.

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.