Sourcing Live Dubia Roaches from China

Duty and import controls for live Dubia roaches

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 0106 covers other live animals. Live Dubia roaches fall within the other-insects line, 0106 49 00 00, carrying 0% duty for goods from China. The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension for this line. The table shows buying formats within the same commodity line.

The tariff attaches Animal Health Certificate, Veterinary control, CITES import and export controls, invasive alien species control and organic-product import control. APHA states that these non-harmonised animals have no animal-health import requirements. Ask your customs broker to confirm how the attached certificate and veterinary measures apply to this Chinese consignment, and confirm the species-specific CITES, invasive-species and organic requirements before dispatch.

Confirm the species, live condition and intended use with your broker using finding your commodity code. For the wider heading, see live feeder crickets. This guide concerns commercial imports into Great Britain and live Dubia roaches intended for the pet trade.

Specify the Dubia stock and entry route

Name the species as Blaptica dubia rather than accepting a generic cockroach description. Specify nymphs or adults, agreed body-size grades, the counting method and whether adult stock is sex-sorted for breeding. Ask for current batch photographs and rearing-feed records. Agree how the supplier will prevent other insects, mites and loose debris entering the tubs.

APHA's commercial-invertebrate guidance permits imports from any trading partner, which includes China. Government guidance says a licence application is required to import non-native animals into Great Britain. Ask APHA to confirm the applicable licensing route for the named species and intended use before committing to stock.

Most consignments must enter through a point with a relevant border control post. Arrange the accepting entry point and advance notification with your broker; notification is due at least one working day before arrival. Agree ventilated, escape-resistant packaging and a receiving plan before dispatch.

If selling the roaches as animal feed, register the business with the local Trading Standards office as required for animal-feed businesses. Describe the intended pet-feeder use clearly when discussing registration and agree the applicable position with the authority.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 40 tubs of live Dubia roach nymphs under 0106 49 00 00, invoiced at £834 free on board, with £889 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £1,723. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £1,723, so it is £344.60. 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. 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

Identity: compare the delivered insects with the agreed species photographs and check for mixed species or unexpected adult stock.

Grade and count: sample tubs against the agreed body-size grades and counting method. For breeding stock, check the agreed adult sex mix.

Condition: record live, dead and visibly damaged insects separately. Photograph condensation, mould, mites, unusual odours or wet packing before disturbing the batch.

Containment and records: check lids, ventilation mesh and outer packaging for escape routes. Match tub identifiers to the invoice, packing list, origin, destination and declared intended use.

What goes wrong

An order described only as live cockroaches leaves room for species substitutions, mixed grades and a different breeding-stock mix. Use batch photographs and written acceptance criteria, including how mortality, short counts and substitutions will be recorded and resolved.

A duty-free classification can distract buyers from the entry arrangements. Confirm the broker's document instructions and the accepting border route before dispatch. On arrival, open tubs inside a secure enclosure, keep suspect batches separate and record their condition before mixing them with established colonies.

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.