Fruit presses and crushers from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, presses, crushers and similar machinery used in the manufacture of wine, cider, fruit juices or similar beverages, heading 8435, carried 0% on goods from China on both lines, machinery and parts, with no anti-dumping measure.

Household juicers are domestic appliances under heading 8509, and machinery for preparing fruit and vegetables for other food uses is under 8438 (see our food processing machinery guide). Confirm the commodity code from the machine's use.

Machinery and food-contact rules

Each machine placed on the UK market must meet the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, with a declaration of conformity, marking and instructions in English; hydraulic and pneumatic presses need guarding and controls that stop the platen when the operator reaches in.

Parts that touch juice must meet retained Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, so ask for declarations and steel grade certificates for baskets, trays, platens and pipework, and for the hygiene design to be assessed against BS EN 1672-2.

Specifying a press

Specify capacity per load or per hour, press type (basket, hydraulic, pneumatic, belt), pressure, stainless steel grade for all juice-contact parts, press cloths or bags, mill or crusher capacity and blade type, drive and power supply, cleaning access, and spares such as cloths, seals and hydraulic parts.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 40 stainless steel hydraulic fruit presses, commodity code 8435 10 00 00, bought for £36,000 free on board, with £3,000 of freight and insurance, so £39,000 is the value customs works from. No duty is due on fruit presses; import VAT at 20% of £39,000 is £7,800. If you are VAT-registered, that VAT is normally reclaimable. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

Inspection checklist

Food contact: check steel grade certificates and declarations for every juice-contact part, and check welds and corners inside trays and baskets are smooth, fully welded and cleanable.

Function: run the press with water or fruit at the factory, check pressure, cycle time and yield against the quote, and check hydraulic lines, seals and the pump for leaks.

Safety and documents: check guards, two-hand or hold-to-run controls and emergency stops on powered presses, and check the declaration of conformity, English manual and spares list.

What goes wrong

Presses fail on steel, hygiene and hydraulics. Juice-contact parts are a lower stainless grade or painted mild steel, welds leave crevices that harbour bacteria, hydraulic seals leak oil near juice, and capacity falls short of the quote on real fruit.

Check steel grades and welds on samples, run a pressing test, and check hydraulics before shipment. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources fruit presses and mills for UK cider makers, vineyards and juice producers, and can place a first order for a single press. See small orders.