Sourcing natural colours and dyes from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, colouring matter of vegetable origin and preparations based on it (3203 00 10 00), and of animal origin (3203 00 90 00), carried 0% on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. The heading includes dye extracts but not animal black, and preparations must be based on the colouring matter.

Both lines carry a veterinary control and a CITES check in the tariff. Vegetable colours are declared as not concerned with the exemption codes, while animal-origin colours such as carmine from cochineal may need a common health entry document; confirm with your customs agent before shipping, and see products of animal origin. Synthetic dyes and pigments are in our textile dyes guide.

Food and cosmetic colours

A natural colour used in food is a food additive: it must be authorised for that food and meet its purity specification, such as E 100 curcumin, E 160c paprika extract, E 162 beetroot red, E 163 anthocyanins or E 120 carmine, as listed on the FSA register of authorised food additives. Ask the supplier for the specification it meets and the extraction solvents used. For food-grade gum and resin sourcing, see our natural gums and resins guide.

Colours in cosmetics must be listed in Annex IV of retained Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 for the intended use. Colours for textiles or crafts need a UK REACH position above one tonne a year.

Specifying a colour

Natural colours are bought on colour strength, measured as absorbance or colour value at a stated wavelength, on hue, on form (powder, liquid, oil- or water-dispersible) and on stability to heat, light and acidity in the customer's product. Name the application, because a colour stable in a sweet may fade in a drink.

Turmeric and paprika sold as spices are in our spices guide, and other botanical extracts in our plant extracts guide.

Worked duty example

Suppose, purely for illustration, you import 2 tonnes of natural indigo powder for textile dyeing under 3203 00 10 00. At £24,000 free on board and £1,500 to ship and insure, the customs value is £25,500. With 0% duty on natural indigo, the only charge is import VAT: 20% of £25,500, or £5,100. VAT-registered businesses usually recover that in their next return. The method is set out in how UK import duty and VAT work.

Inspection checklist

Colour strength: measure colouring power by spectrophotometry against the specification on each lot, for example as in ISO 5566 for turmeric or ISO 7541 for paprika colour, and compare hue with the approved sample in the customer's product.

Purity and contaminants: for food use, test lead, arsenic and mercury against the additive specification, and residual extraction solvents, and test for Salmonella to ISO 6579-1 on dried powders.

Packing and records: check drums or foil bags are sealed and light-proof, labels show the E number where it is a food colour, lot and best-before date, and certificates of analysis match the lot numbers.

What goes wrong

Natural colours fail on strength, stability and purity. Colour value comes in below the certificate so more product is needed per batch, extracts fade or brown in the customer's recipe, powders cake, lots differ in hue, and synthetic dyes or undeclared carriers are sometimes added to raise colour strength.

Test colour strength and screen for synthetic dyes on every lot, run a stability trial in the real product, and keep an approved reference sample. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources natural colours and dye extracts for food, cosmetic and textile makers, checking the extraction plant and its laboratory before an order. See factory verification.