Sourcing paddy rice from China

Paddy rice duty and import controls

Heading 1006 covers rice; this guide concerns rice retaining its husk, described as paddy or rough rice. The supplied record contains only the paddy lines shown here. Keep sowing seed separate from grain bought for milling into food or for feed. For other processing states, see the rice sourcing guide.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, the supplied China-origin paddy lines show 6% for sowing and £176.00 per 1000 kg for other long grain with a length/width ratio greater than 2 but less than 3. Neither line lists anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or suspensions. Both attach organic and GMO import controls. Controlled food and feed rice from China must enter through an approved Border Control Post; confirm documents and clearance requirements with your customs broker.

For organic food from China entering Great Britain, confirm with your organic control body or customs broker whether a certificate of inspection is required for each consignment and which checks apply to the exporter’s control body and export country under the non-UK organic registers. For organic feed or sowing seed, confirm the attached control with your broker. Ask the broker to check sowing-seed import requirements separately before ordering. Provide intended use, husk condition and grain measurements when finding your commodity code.

Specify husk condition and milling performance

State the variety, crop identity and intended use. Specify delivery with the husk intact rather than brown or milled rice. Agree moisture, foreign matter, damaged kernels, grain dimensions and bagging in writing. For milling, assess a representative sample with your mill and agree acceptable husking performance, recovered rice and broken kernels.

For sowing, agree varietal identity, purity and germination evidence separately from milling quality. Confirm the applicable food hygiene standards and procedures for food cereals with the relevant food authority. Request batch-specific laboratory results and agree pesticide, mould-toxin and GMO testing arrangements with the relevant laboratory and port authority.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative small trial consignment of bagged paddy rice for sowing, subject to import checks under 1006 10 10 00, invoiced at £1,000 free on board, with £1,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £2,000. Duty at 6% is £120. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £2,120, so it is £424. Import taxes total £544; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £120 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

Identity: compare variety, husk condition, grain dimensions and intended use with the order and retained sample.

Condition: sample across bags for uneven moisture, musty odours, live insects, stones, weed seeds and damaged kernels.

Performance: compare sample milling results with the agreed specification; for sowing seed, review the lot’s germination and purity results.

Packing and records: check bags, seals, water staining and net weight; match lot markings to laboratory results and shipment documents. Arrange quality inspection around representative samples.

What goes wrong

A clean surface sample can hide damp grain deeper in the bags. Husk appearance also gives little assurance of the rice recovered after milling. Agree sampling across the lot and trial milling before accepting the shipment. Visual inspection cannot establish pesticide residues, mould toxins or GMO status.

A supplier may quote a sowing code for grain actually bought for milling, or offer an organic claim without consignment paperwork. Resolve classification and import arrangements before loading. A favourable sample does not establish border compliance; plan testing and certification around the intended use and shipment lot.

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.