Sourcing lactic acid from China

Lactic acid duty and classification

Heading 2918 covers carboxylic acids with additional oxygen function and related derivatives. Its lactic acid branch includes the acid, its salts and esters. The table separates buying options sharing a code; it does not represent separate tariff lines. For other acids, see citric acid and food acids.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 20 October 2026, both listed lactic acid codes carry 0% duty for goods from China. No anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or suspension is recorded for these lines. The tariff attaches an export waste control. Waste shipment controls apply only to waste; confirm any requirement affecting your China shipment with your customs broker.

The specialist line covers L-(+)-lactic acid of at least 99% purity for the specified derivative manufacturing or pharmaceutical solution manufacturing uses. Do not select it on purity alone. Give your broker the chemical identity, assay, composition and intended use, and confirm the commodity code.

Specify lactic acid concentration and grade

State whether you want lactic acid itself, a lactate salt or an ester. For the acid, specify concentration by weight, optical form, water content, colour, impurity limits and test methods. Agree drum material, closure type, net weight and storage instructions. Ask for a sample and a certificate of analysis tied to the production batch.

Confirm with the FSA which purity criteria apply to lactic acid used as a food additive. Specify food use explicitly rather than accepting a general technical-grade certificate. For Great Britain, confirm with HSE whether your substance imports require UK REACH registration and whether an exemption applies to the intended food use.

For chemical supply in Great Britain, the supply chain must ensure correct labelling and packaging before placing substances or mixtures on the market. Ask the supplier for safety data and have the proposed label and packaging checked against your product's composition and intended supply.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: a pallet of lactic acid in sealed drums under 2918 11 00 80, invoiced at £2,500 free on board, with £980 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £3,480. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £3,480, so it is £696. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: match the ordered acid, salt or ester and optical form to the invoice, drum labels and batch certificate.

Composition: test a representative sample for assay, water content, colour and agreed impurities using the specified methods.

Packing: check drum compatibility, intact seals, clean closures, leakage, external staining and recorded net weights.

Batch records: match each drum's batch identifier to its certificate and retain a sample for comparison with later deliveries. Arrange quality inspection around these checks.

What goes wrong

A concentration mismatch changes the amount of active acid in your formulation. An unsuitable optical form can fail a customer's specification even when the total assay passes. A generic certificate can conceal that the batch was tested against technical rather than food-grade criteria.

Leaking closures, contaminated transfer equipment and missing batch identifiers create avoidable disputes. Agree acceptance tests and sampling before production, and hold suspect drums apart until the identity, composition and condition have been checked.

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.