Sourcing greasy and scoured wool from China

Zero duty with a veterinary control

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, wool not carded or combed of heading 5101, whether greasy, degreased or carbonised, carried 0% on goods from China on every line, with no anti-dumping measure, but every line carries a veterinary control at import.

Untreated wool is an animal by-product under retained Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009, so check the current GB import conditions, documents and any approved-premises requirement on the GOV.UK animal products import guidance before shipping; fully scoured wool is treated differently from greasy wool. Carded and combed wool and tops are in our wool tops guide; confirm the commodity code. For finished woven material, see our worsted wool fabrics guide.

The Import Information Notes spell out the difference. Wool and hair that has been factory washed, or treated by one of the listed methods such as industrial scouring at 60 to 70°C or the set storage periods, counts as treated: it can come from any country, needs no health certificate and has no veterinary check, but must travel with a commercial document giving the consignor, consignee, country of origin, quantity, species and the treatment used (IIN ABP/23B). Untreated greasy wool and hair has separate conditions in IIN ABP/23A, so ask the supplier which treatment the lot has had and put it on the commercial document.

Specifying wool

Raw and scoured wool is bought on clean wool yield, mean fibre diameter, vegetable matter, colour, staple length and strength, and residual grease for scoured lots, tested by IWTO methods on core samples from the bales. Put the grade and test basis in the product specification with the bale weight and packing.

Wool used for stuffing, bedding or insulation becomes part of products with their own rules, such as fire safety for upholstered furniture, and wool resold as a textile product needs fibre names that follow the textile labelling regulations. For textile filling materials, see our wadding, cotton wool and flock guide.

Worked duty example

Take a hypothetical order of 10 tonnes of scoured shorn wool in pressed bales, entered under 5101 21 00 00: £28,000 free on board plus £2,000 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £30,000. Scoured wool carry no duty, so import VAT of 20% on £30,000, £6,000, is the only tax. A VAT-registered importer normally reclaims it, so the border adds no lasting cost. Step by step: UK import duty and VAT.

What goes wrong

Wool fails on yield, contamination and paperwork. Clean yield is lower than the invoice so the real price per kilo rises; vegetable matter, kemp or coloured fibre spoil the lot; scoured wool keeps too much grease and smells; bales arrive damp and yellowed or with polypropylene contamination; and the veterinary documents do not match the goods, so the shipment is held.

Core-test bales for yield, diameter and vegetable matter against the lot certificate, check colour and residual grease on scoured wool, inspect for polypropylene and dark fibre, check bale moisture and weights, and confirm the veterinary and commercial documents match the bales before loading.

Cambridge China Bridge sources scoured and carbonised wool for felting, bedding, insulation and spinning buyers, starting with sample bales and small first lots. See how we handle first and smaller orders. For fibre prepared for felting or spinning, see wool tops and carded wool.

The grease scoured out of raw wool is refined into lanolin; see our lanolin and wool grease guide.