Sourcing horse feed supplements from China
Selected low-milk horse feed supplement lines carry £19 to £85 per 1,000 kg; the listed pea protein ingredient carries 8%. Feed additives must be authorised for their intended use in Great Britain. Chinese animal-origin feed products are prohibited unless a listed exception applies. Cambridge China Bridge sources horse feed supplements.
Duty depends on the supplement formulation
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 October 2026, heading 2309 covers preparations used in animal feeding, including premixes. The selected low-milk blend lines carry £19, £46 or £85 per 1,000 kg according to starch content. The listed high-protein pea ingredient carries 8%; it is an ingredient line, not a general code for finished horse supplements. These selected lines have no recorded anti-dumping or countervailing duty.
The record lists conditional suspensions for specified soya protein concentrates and an astaxanthin preparation, excluding mixtures containing those products. Do not assume a blended supplement qualifies. Veterinary, organic and waste import controls are attached; the blend lines also carry seal-product controls. For organic consignments from China, confirm inspection certificates with your broker. Waste controls apply where material is waste; confirm applicable notification requirements. The record also attaches waste export controls.
Give the broker the full formula, ingredient origins, processing details and starch, sugar and milk analysis to confirm the commodity code. The supplied list does not contain every possible horse supplement formulation. For the wider heading, see pet food and animal feed.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping or countervailing duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other feed blends, starch up to 10%, milk products under 10% | 2309 90 31 99 | £19.00 per 1000 kg | None |
| Other feed blends, starch over 10% to 30%, milk products under 10% | 2309 90 41 89 | £46.00 per 1000 kg | None |
| Other feed blends, starch over 30%, milk products under 10% | 2309 90 51 90 | £85.00 per 1000 kg | None |
| High-protein pea feed ingredient within the other preparations branch | 2309 90 96 95 | 8% | None |
Specify the horse supplement and its carrier
Define whether you are buying a finished complementary blend or an ingredient for further manufacture. Specify powder, granules, pellets or liquid; the nutrient concentrations, chemical forms, carrier, feeding instructions and storage conditions. Record animal-derived ingredients explicitly, including milk products. Agree scoop capacity by weight, blending uniformity, moisture, particle size and packaging seals.
Feed additives must be authorised before marketing in Great Britain and used only for their authorised purpose. Check each additive against the intended horse use before approving the formula. Feed businesses generally need registration or approval with their competent authority. Feed marketing rules cover labelling and composition, and feed must be safe. Agree the label and batch analysis with your feed compliance adviser.
Animal-origin products from China for feed use are prohibited unless the listed exception applies. Ask the Animal and Plant Health Agency and your broker to confirm eligibility, veterinary documents and entry arrangements before ordering. Animal by-product imports require advance notification through the official import notification system. Do not treat a factory's pet-food export documents as approval for a horse supplement.
Seal products for sale must qualify under the Inuit and other indigenous communities exemption and have a seal catch certificate. If a supplier proposes seal-derived ingredients, resolve eligibility before ordering. Use testing and certification support to agree ingredient identity, nutrient and contaminant testing.
Worked duty example
Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 12 tonnes of qualifying pea protein feed ingredient for making horse supplements under 2309 90 96 95, invoiced at £30,000 free on board, with £3,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £33,500. Duty at 8% is £2,680. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £36,180, so it is £7,236. Import taxes total £9,916; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,680 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
Formula: compare ingredient identities, nutrient forms and carrier with the approved specification; investigate substitutions and undeclared animal-derived material.
Analysis: independently sample the batch and check nutrient concentrations, moisture and agreed contaminants; compare results with the label and factory certificate.
Physical condition: check for caking, separation, damaged pellets, leaking liquids, mould and unusual odours; compare samples from different packs for consistency.
Packs and records: match batch references, feeding instructions and storage information to the approved artwork; check seals, net contents and scoop weight. Plan sampling through the quality inspection guide.
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What goes wrong
A factory can retain the supplement name while changing the carrier or nutrient form. That can change the nutrient delivery, starch analysis and tariff classification. Powders can segregate during transport, so a scoop from a sampled pack may differ from the batch average. Fix the formula and change-approval process in the purchase specification.
A certificate for a hand-picked sample may conceal variation across the shipment. Damp powders cake, seals leak and labels can describe a different formulation. Animal-origin eligibility and additive authorisation remain separate checks from laboratory quality. Approve the formula, sampling plan and import documents before shipment, then compare arrival samples with retained production samples.
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 horse feed supplements from China?
The selected low-milk blend lines carry £19, £46 or £85 per 1,000 kg. The listed high-protein pea ingredient carries 8%. Confirm the formulation and code; these are not universal supplement rates.
Can horse supplements containing animal ingredients come from China?
Chinese animal-origin products for feed use are prohibited unless a listed exception applies. Ask the Animal and Plant Health Agency and your broker to confirm the specific product before ordering.
Can a factory use any vitamin or probiotic in a horse supplement?
Feed additives must be authorised in Great Britain and used for their authorised purpose. Check the exact additive and intended horse use before approving the formula.
What should I test in an imported horse supplement?
Agree ingredient identity, nutrient concentrations, moisture, blending uniformity and relevant contaminant tests. Independently sample the batch and compare results with the approved formula and label.