Sourcing Frozen Whole Salmon from China

2% duty on the listed salmon lines

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 October 2026, the supplied salmon lines within heading 0303 cover headed and gutted sockeye for processing and other Pacific salmon. Both carry 2% duty for goods from China, with no listed anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. The table separates species sharing the other Pacific salmon line. The supplied facts do not include an Atlantic salmon line, so do not apply these rates to an Atlantic salmon order.

These lines carry veterinary, illegal fishing and organic import controls. For Great Britain, ask your customs broker or APHA to confirm establishment approval, health certification, advance notification through IPAFFS and entry through a designated border control post. Ask them to confirm validated catch-certificate requirements for wild-caught salmon and whether fish farmed from fry or larvae is outside that control. For organic salmon, confirm the certificate-of-inspection requirements with your customs broker; the exporter’s control body issues the certificate.

Confirm the commodity code using the scientific species name, presentation and intended processing. A supplier’s description of ‘salmon’ is insufficient. For other species and the wider heading, see frozen whole fish.

Specify species, presentation and usable weight

Write the scientific species name into the order. Specify head-on or headed, gutted or ungutted, individual size grade, freezing method, glaze allowance and net fish weight after deglazing. Agree acceptable skin damage, belly cleaning, flesh colour and thawed texture against an approved sample. State whether the salmon is intended for further processing or sale as whole fish.

Record whether the fish is wild-caught or farmed, its catch or farming area, the processing plant and the batch identity. Check the plant’s approval before ordering. For farmed salmon, arrange veterinary residue testing before shipment and ask your broker to confirm any China-specific testing declarations needed for the consignment. See factory verification.

Agree carton protection and refrigerated handling through delivery to your cold store. Ask the relevant food authority to confirm the retail-label requirements for the species name, production method and area, allergens, storage information and a UK address. Have the proposed label checked before printing.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 tonnes of frozen whole chum salmon under 0303 12 00 80, 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 2% is £350. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £17,850, so it is £3,570. Import taxes total £3,920; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £350 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

Species and presentation: match samples to the ordered salmon species, head and gut condition, size grade and approved sample; inspect skin damage and belly cleaning.

Glaze and weight: weigh fish after deglazing, compare usable net weight with the specification, and check for mixed sizes or excessive ice.

Cold chain: measure core temperature on arrival against the agreed storage specification, review the transport temperature record, and inspect for thawing, refreezing and freezer burn.

Documents and labels: match plant approval, batch marks, health certificate and applicable catch documents to the cartons; check retail label information and farmed-fish residue reports.

What goes wrong

A carton marked ‘salmon’ can conceal the wrong species or presentation. Excess glaze reduces usable yield, mixed size grades disrupt portioning, and thawing followed by refreezing affects texture. Photograph arrival defects, retain temperature records and compare deglazed weights with the agreed specification before accepting a disputed lot.

Before dispatch, ask your customs broker or APHA to confirm plant-approval, health-certificate and wild-catch document requirements and resolve any discrepancies that could affect clearance. Failure to comply with import regulations can lead to return or destruction at the importer’s expense. Ask the broker to confirm the organic control where an organic claim is proposed.

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.