Sourcing Frozen Asparagus from China

Frozen asparagus duty: 14%

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, frozen asparagus under 0710 80 85 00 carries 14% duty for goods from China. Heading 0710 covers frozen vegetables, uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water. The table shows buying formats under the same asparagus line, rather than separate tariff subdivisions. See the frozen vegetables guide for the wider heading.

The supplied reading lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension for asparagus. It attaches an organic import control. Organic consignments from China entering Great Britain need a certificate of inspection, issued by the exporter's control body in the country of export. Confirm the full organic clearance requirements with your customs broker before dispatch.

Confirm the ingredients and processing method using finding your commodity code, especially for asparagus with sauce or seasoning. Ask HMRC or your customs broker to confirm the exact product's VAT liability, including whether zero rating applies. The import duty and VAT guide explains the calculation.

Specify spears, tips and woody-end trimming

Specify green or white asparagus, whole spears, tips or cuts, diameter and length bands, peeled or unpeeled stems, and the permitted proportion of broken tips. Agree where woody bases are trimmed and assess a cooked sample for fibrous stems, tenderness and flavour.

Agree blanching, freezing method, pack weight, ice content and remaining shelf life on arrival. Plan the cold chain at -18°C or colder with temperature records. Confirm with your local authority whether you need food-business registration as an importer, and with the relevant food authority which GB pesticide maximum residue levels apply; request a lot-linked residue report from an accredited laboratory.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order only: 5 tonnes of plain frozen asparagus spears under 0710 80 85 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 14% is £3,010. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £24,510, so it is £4,902. Import taxes total £7,912; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £3,010 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

Shape and trimming: measure spear diameter and length against the specification; check tip integrity, peeling and woody bases on a cooked sample.

Temperature and ice: check core temperature on arrival and review transport records; inspect clumping, freezer burn and loose ice.

Weight and labels: check net weight after removing ice against the declared quantity, and English labels for the food name, storage instructions and UK address.

Batch evidence: match carton lot codes to residue reports and the agreed microbiological testing plan. Use the quality inspection guide to organise checks.

What goes wrong

An attractive frozen spear can still have a fibrous base. Mixed diameters cook unevenly, broken tips reduce usable portions, and poorly controlled blanching can leave soft stems. Compare cooked samples with the approved sample, rather than accepting appearance alone.

Clumping, excess ice and freezer burn warrant investigation of freezing, packaging and transport records. A sample report for a different lot provides weak evidence for the shipment. Agree how arrival defects will be recorded and resolved before loading.

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.