Sourcing fully cooked chicken skewers from China
The supplied chicken-skewer lines carry £856 to £2,313 per 1,000 kg, depending on poultry content. Imports into Great Britain need an approved establishment, the relevant health certificate and veterinary border checks. Fully cooked does not itself establish import eligibility. Cambridge China Bridge sources fully cooked chicken skewers.
Chicken skewer duties and import eligibility
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 1602 covers other prepared or preserved meat and related products. For fully cooked chicken skewers, the supplied line with at least 57% poultry meat or offal carries £856 per 1,000 kg. The other relevant chicken lines carry £2,313 per 1,000 kg. They show no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension.
The tariff attaches veterinary and organic-product import controls. For Great Britain, check country and establishment approval and the relevant health certificate, and ask APHA to confirm any China-specific risk-mitigating treatment. Ask APHA to confirm advance import notification requirements and arrange entry through a border control post approved for the commodity. Have your broker confirm the veterinary entry document requirement. For organic skewers, confirm certification and certificate-of-inspection arrangements with your organic control body; the exporter's control body issues the certificate.
Confirm the commodity code using the full recipe, poultry content and processing records. See the fully cooked chicken nuggets guide for the wider heading. Only the relevant cooked-chicken lines are shown here. None carries a plain percentage duty in the supplied facts, so a percentage-duty worked order cannot be provided accurately.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping or countervailing duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully cooked chicken skewers, poultry meat or offal content at least 57% | 1602 32 19 90 | £856.00 per 1000 kg | None |
| Chicken skewer preparations, poultry meat or offal content 25% to below 57% | 1602 32 30 90 | £2313.00 per 1000 kg | None |
| Other chicken skewer preparations, poultry meat or offal content below 25% | 1602 32 90 90 | £2313.00 per 1000 kg | None |
Specify the chicken, skewer and cooking process
Specify breast or thigh meat, whole-muscle pieces or formed meat, skin content, added water, sauce and seasoning. Agree the meat weight separately from the stick and sauce, piece size, stick material, exposed handle and pack arrangement. Record the complete marinade recipe, including allergenic ingredients, and agree flavour and texture against a retained sample.
Have the exporter confirm the applicable China-specific treatment before approving the cooking process. Ask for batch cooking, cooling and freezing records, microbiological results and evidence supporting the proposed shelf life. Agree whether the skewers are ready to eat or intended for reheating, with preparation and storage instructions matching that intended use.
Inspection checklist
Documents: match establishment approval, health certificate, product description and batch markings to the shipment; review cooking and laboratory records.
Cold chain: compare transport temperature records with agreed storage conditions and inspect packs for thawing signs, damaged seals and leaks.
Skewers: check meat weight, piece size, stick splinters, broken sticks and meat sliding off; compare texture and seasoning with the approved sample.
Labels: check the food name, ingredients with allergens emphasised, chicken quantity, net quantity, date marking, storage instructions and food business name and UK address.
What goes wrong
A factory describes the skewers as fully cooked but cannot substantiate the processing records. Ask APHA to confirm any treatment requirements for the applicable China poultry certificate. An attractive sample does not resolve establishment approval or certification. Check eligibility before ordering and have the certificate draft reviewed before loading.
Extra sauce, added water or a switch from whole-muscle chicken to formed meat changes serving yield and texture. Broken sticks and loose pieces make catering portions difficult to handle. Agree measurable acceptance criteria, retain samples and investigate temperature excursions or damaged packs before releasing the affected stock.
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.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on fully cooked chicken skewers from China?
The supplied cooked-chicken lines carry £856 per 1,000 kg for poultry meat or offal content at least 57%, and £2,313 per 1,000 kg for the other relevant chicken lines. No trade remedy or suspension is listed.
Can fully cooked chicken skewers from China enter Great Britain?
They may qualify, subject to establishment approval, health certification and veterinary border procedures. Ask APHA to confirm country eligibility and any applicable treatment for the exact product before ordering.
Does fully cooked mean the Chinese factory's process is acceptable?
Do not assume so. Ask APHA to confirm any specific risk-mitigating treatment required by the applicable China poultry meat-product certificate. Ask the exporter to confirm the applicable treatment and supply batch processing records.
What should I check when frozen chicken skewers arrive?
Check temperature records, seals, thawing signs, batch markings, meat weight and stick integrity. Compare the pieces, seasoning and texture with the agreed specification and retained sample.