Sourcing fully cooked pork belly from China
Listed domestic-pork belly preparations carry £45 to £71 per 100 kg, depending on meat, offal and fat content. Fully cooked pork belly from China cannot legally enter Great Britain; a tariff code does not give import permission. Cambridge China Bridge checks whether a product can be imported before any order is placed.
Pork belly duty and import eligibility
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 1602 covers other prepared or preserved meat and related products. Relevant domestic-pork belly preparations carry £71 per 100 kg at meat, offal and fat content of at least 80%, £62 per 100 kg at 40% to below 80%, and £45 per 100 kg below 40%. The other selected pork-containing preparation line carries £71 per 100 kg.
Animal products from China are prohibited from entering Great Britain unless a listed exception applies. Ask APHA to confirm whether any exception covers fully cooked pork belly of Chinese origin; do not assume cooking establishes eligibility. The selected tariff lines show no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. They attach veterinary and organic import controls. Ask your customs broker to confirm the veterinary document requirement; for organic claims, confirm certification and inspection-certificate arrangements with your organic control body. These checks do not override any applicable prohibition.
Confirm the commodity code using the complete recipe, species, meat and fat content, and processing records. The table gives classification candidates, not permission to import. No relevant pork belly line has a plain percentage duty, so no percentage-duty worked example applies. See the wider cooked meat guide for the wider heading.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping or countervailing duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic pork belly preparations, meat, offal and fat content at least 80% | 1602 49 19 90 | £71.00 per 100 kg | None |
| Domestic pork belly preparations, meat, offal and fat content 40% to below 80% | 1602 49 30 00 | £62.00 per 100 kg | None |
| Domestic pork belly preparations, meat, offal and fat content below 40% | 1602 49 50 00 | £45.00 per 100 kg | None |
| Other meat preparations containing domestic pork belly, if classified here | 1602 90 51 00 | £71.00 per 100 kg | None |
Specify the belly cut, sauce and cooked texture
For a Great Britain buying brief, ask APHA to resolve whether the China import prohibition applies to the proposed product before commissioning production or packaging. If considering an alternative supply, record the proposed origin and full recipe before assessing samples.
Specify skin-on or skinless belly, bone removal, whole slabs or portions, lean-to-fat balance, rind texture and the texture after reheating. Record pork content separately from sauce, added fat and other meat ingredients. Agree seasoning, allergen information, pack weight and whether the product is chilled, frozen or intended for ambient storage.
Ask for cooking and cooling records, microbiological results and evidence supporting the proposed shelf life. Agree seal acceptance criteria, sauce leakage checks, storage instructions and reheating instructions against a retained sample.
Inspection checklist
Documents: for an alternative supply confirmed as importable, match the origin, product recipe, supplier and batch records to the packs received.
Pack condition: inspect vacuum loss, broken seals, swelling, leakage and damaged cartons; isolate suspect packs for investigation.
Belly and sauce: compare portion size, rind, fat distribution, sauce quantity and reheated texture with the agreed sample; weigh sampled packs.
Storage and labels: review the arrival temperature record against the agreed specification. Check the food name, ingredients with allergens emphasised, net quantity, date mark, storage conditions and UK food-business address.
What goes wrong
A supplier describes the belly as fully cooked, frozen or shelf-stable and provides a tariff code. The buyer treats those details as import approval, although they do not establish whether Chinese-origin pork belly qualifies for an exception to the prohibition on animal products entering Great Britain. Ask APHA to resolve eligibility before approving the order.
For an alternative supply, watch for excessive sauce replacing belly, uneven fat layers, tough rind after reheating and seals contaminated with fat. Agree measurable acceptance criteria and compare arrival samples with the retained product sample.
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 pork belly from China?
Relevant domestic-pork preparations carry £45, £62 or £71 per 100 kg, depending on composition. These weight-based rates do not establish import eligibility; ask APHA whether Chinese-origin pork belly qualifies for an exception to the prohibition on animal products entering Great Britain.
Can I import fully cooked pork belly from China into Great Britain?
Do not assume eligibility. Ask APHA whether Chinese-origin pork belly is among the permitted animal products from China. A commodity code, duty payment or supplier certificate does not by itself establish an import route.
Does freezing or cooking Chinese pork belly make it importable?
Fully cooked pork belly remains a pork product. Do not assume that describing it as frozen, shelf-stable or ready to reheat places it among the permitted animal products from China. Ask APHA to confirm eligibility for the actual product and processing method.
What should I specify for cooked pork belly from an alternative supply?
Agree skin and bone removal, portion size, fat balance, pork and sauce content, allergens, reheated texture, pack seals, storage conditions and shelf-life evidence before approving samples.