Sourcing meat and bone meal from China

Zero duty does not establish import permission

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 2301 covers animal meals unfit for human consumption and greaves. Its meat and meat-offal line, 2301 10 00 00, carries 0% duty for goods from China, with no recorded anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or suspension. The product forms below share this supplied code; they are not separate tariff subdivisions.

The China safeguard prohibits animal-origin feed imports except listed products. Ask APHA to confirm whether the exact meat and bone meal proposed as feed material falls within any permitted exception before ordering. The tariff also attaches veterinary, CITES, seal-product, organic-product and waste import controls, plus CITES and waste export controls. Ask your customs broker to confirm their application to the exact goods; these tariff entries do not establish an admissible route from China.

Give the species, raw-material description, processing method and intended use when checking the commodity code. For the wider heading, see fishmeal and animal meal. For a proposed fertiliser or industrial use, obtain a separate assessment from APHA before ordering.

Specify species, tissue source and intended use

Describe whether the material comes from poultry, pigs, ruminants or a mixture. Request the tissue sources, processing records and batch traceability. State the intended destination and use explicitly, including whether it is a feed ingredient, a fertiliser ingredient or an industrial material.

Agree crude protein, fat, moisture, ash, calcium, phosphorus and particle size in writing. Ask the laboratory to propose species identification and contamination checks. Compare production samples with retained samples from the shipment. These commercial checks do not resolve import permission.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative arithmetic only: 12 tonnes of meat and bone meal; this example does not establish permission to import under 2301 10 00 00, invoiced at £3,500 free on board, with £2,680 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £6,180. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £6,180, so it is £1,236. 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 declared species, tissue sources and physical form with the contract and batch records.

Analysis: independently sample the lot and compare protein, fat, moisture, ash and mineral results with the agreed specification.

Condition: check arrival samples for dampness, caking, mould, rancid odour and foreign material; keep affected samples separately.

Traceability: match bag markings, batch references, weights and laboratory reports to the shipment; investigate any substituted manufacturing site.

What goes wrong

The main purchasing error is treating the tariff's zero duty as permission to import feed material from China. Do not assume that describing a bulk ingredient as pet food establishes eligibility; ask APHA to confirm whether any safeguard exception applies. Settle the product's actual identity and admissibility before paying for production.

A high ash content can indicate a different meat-to-bone balance from the approved sample, while excess moisture or residual fat can affect storage condition. Species substitution and mixed batches also undermine the specification. Investigate discrepancies against independently collected samples and the supplier's production records.

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.