Sourcing frozen spinach from China

Frozen spinach duty: 14%

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, frozen spinach under 0710 30 00 00 carried 14% duty for goods from China. Heading 0710 covers vegetables frozen uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water. The spinach line also names New Zealand spinach and orache spinach. The table shows buying formats sharing this commodity line.

The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension for this line. It attaches an organic import control. For organic spinach from China entering Great Britain, obtain a certificate of inspection for each consignment and check the exporter’s control body and export country against the non-UK organic registers.

Confirm the ingredients and processing with your broker using the commodity code guide, especially if the product contains sauce or other ingredients. See the frozen vegetables guide for the wider heading. Confirm the exact product's VAT treatment with HMRC or your customs broker.

Specify the leaves, cut and cooking use

Specify whole leaves, chopped spinach or pressed blocks; agree stem content, cut consistency, portion weight, pack format and acceptable thawed appearance. State whether the spinach is supplied uncooked or blanched, and agree its intended cooking use. Compare samples after cooking and draining, rather than judging only the frozen block.

Agree a cold chain at -18°C or colder, temperature records and remaining shelf life on arrival. Imported spinach is subject to nitrate safety controls. Ask for batch-linked nitrate and pesticide residue reports, with the laboratory confirming the applicable GB limits. Confirm food business registration and applicable labelling requirements with the relevant authority, including language, net weight, storage instructions and address details.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 20 tonnes of frozen chopped spinach under 0710 30 00 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

Leaves and cut: thaw and cook a sample; check colour, tough stems, cut consistency, grit and other foreign matter against the approved sample.

Temperature: check core temperature on arrival and review transport records against the agreed cold chain; investigate damaged packs, excess ice and unexpected clumping.

Weight and packing: check net weight, portion consistency, seals, carton condition and batch identification. Compare drained yield using the agreed preparation method.

Documents: match carton batch codes to nitrate and residue reports, storage instructions and any organic certificate. Use the inspection guide to brief the inspector.

What goes wrong

A chopped sample can conceal coarse stems or grit until cooked. Compare cooked texture and drained yield with the approved sample. Freezer burn, discolouration, torn liners and excess ice warrant investigation; clumping alone is less informative when the product was deliberately frozen into blocks.

A report for a different batch gives no useful assurance about the delivered spinach. Resolve mismatched batch codes, missing organic paperwork or unexplained temperature excursions before releasing the affected stock for sale.

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.