Sourcing frozen scallop meat from China

8% on the supplied frozen scallop line

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, frozen Pecten maximus under 0307 22 10 00 carried 8% duty for goods from China. Heading 0307 covers molluscs in several forms, but this guide concerns frozen scallop meat. No anti-dumping or countervailing duty or suspension is recorded on this line. The table shows buying forms sharing the supplied code, rather than separate tariff lines.

Ask the port health authority to confirm whether China appears on the current bivalve country list. The exception permits wild-caught scallop adductor muscle completely separated from the viscera and gonads; it does not cover farmed or roe-on scallop meat. Ask the authority to confirm eligibility for the Chinese product, establishment approval, health certification, advance notification through the import notification system and entry through a designated border control post. The supplied line attaches veterinary and organic import controls; confirm the organic requirements with your customs broker and approved organic control body before ordering organic stock.

The supplied facts do not establish the duty for other frozen scallop species. Confirm the scientific name, raw or prepared condition and commodity code before accepting a quotation. For the site's wider scallop coverage, see the canned scallops guide.

Specify the muscle, glaze and cooking yield

Specify the scientific name, wild-caught origin and adductor muscle only, with roe and viscera completely removed. Ask for harvesting and processing records before approving a sample. Establishment approval alone does not establish that every scallop product it offers is eligible for Great Britain.

Agree the size grade by count per weight, whole or broken pieces, individually frozen or block frozen, glaze allowance and drained weight. Specify whether soaking, added water or phosphates are acceptable. Compare thawed texture, cooking loss and browning with the approved sample.

Food packed in an ice glaze must show drained net weight. Design the pack around the usable scallop meat, rather than the weight of meat and ice together.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 tonnes of eligible wild-caught frozen Pecten maximus adductor meat under 0307 22 10 00, invoiced at £16,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £17,500. Duty at 8% is £1,400. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £18,900, so it is £3,780. Import taxes total £5,180; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,400 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

Identity and trimming: match the species and wild-caught records to the batch; examine thawed samples for remaining roe, viscera, shell fragments and grit.

Weight and grade: deglaze samples from different cartons, weigh the drained meat and compare piece counts and broken pieces with the agreed specification.

Condition and yield: review transport temperature records, inspect for freezer burn and clumping, and compare thawing loss and cooked texture with the approved sample.

Documents and packs: match the approved establishment, health certificate, invoice and carton batch marks before dispatch; inspect seals and labels on arrival. Use the inspection guide to organise the checks.

What goes wrong

A supplier offers farmed or roe-on scallops as though a seafood approval covers them. This fails the applicable country-list exception. Verify eligibility before paying for production or arranging transport.

Heavy glaze, water treatment and mixed size grades reduce the usable meat and change cooking results. Remaining viscera, grit, broken pieces and damaged packaging also cause rejection against the specification. Record drained weight, condition and batch identity on arrival so that a complaint refers to the actual shipment.

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.