Sourcing pet-food flavour concentrates from China

Zero duty, with formula-specific import checks

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 2 October 2026, heading 3302 covers industrial mixtures based on odoriferous substances. All supplied lines carry 0% duty for goods from China, with no listed anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no listed suspension. This guide concerns concentrates used to flavour pet food. The table repeats the residual code for liquid and powder supply forms; these are not separate tariff lines.

The supplied lines attach veterinary control; the other-mixture lines also attach CITES import control. For animal-derived flavouring innards, official guidance requires an eligible country of origin, an approved establishment and an appropriate health certificate. Confirm the exact Chinese ingredient and manufacturing route with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and your broker before ordering. Where protected-species ingredients are involved, check CITES permits. The tariff also lists export measures concerning mercury and, on some lines, torture and repression goods and CITES.

Give your broker the complete composition, carrier, physical form and intended feed use to confirm the commodity code. The food-industry line is a candidate only where that classification is confirmed. Do not assume an animal digest or finished feed belongs here. See the savoury food flavour concentrate guide for the wider heading.

Specify the flavour, carrier and feed use

State the intended animal species, feed format, flavour profile, carrier, concentration and application method. Ask for the complete ingredient composition and origins, including any animal-derived digest, fat or protein. Agree solubility or dispersibility, powder flow or liquid viscosity, storage conditions and the batch tests before approving a sample.

Where the concentrate is a feed additive, check its authorisation and permitted purpose in the official feed additive register before sale in Great Britain. Apply to your local authority for the registration or approval appropriate to your feed activities. Ask for the proposed label and ingredient-specific authorisation conditions, rather than accepting a general statement that the product is food grade.

Trial the concentrate in your own kibble coating, wet food or treat base. Compare odour after processing and storage, mixing uniformity and animal acceptance through an agreed trial. Keep a retained reference sample and agree how the supplier will notify you of changes to ingredients or carriers.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 tonnes of pet-food flavour concentrate in 25 kg packs under 3302 90 90 00, invoiced at £28,000 free on board, with £1,600 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £29,600. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £29,600, so it is £5,920. 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 batch reference, formula revision, ingredient origins and analysis certificate to the approved order.

Performance: compare odour and dispersibility with the retained sample; inspect powders for caking and liquids for separation.

Packaging: check seals, leakage, pack condition and storage instructions. Animal-derived flavouring innards require new or sterilised packaging, or thoroughly cleaned and disinfected bulk transport.

Documents: check additive authorisation against intended use and reconcile animal-origin import documents with the actual shipment. Agree batch microbiological checks and investigate unexplained results.

What goes wrong

A sample can smell right yet behave differently in the buyer’s feed. Carrier changes can alter coating, powders can cake, and liquids can separate. Approve the concentrate in the actual production process and compare each delivery with the retained reference before releasing it for use.

An animal-derived palatant can arrive with flavour specifications but inadequate import evidence. Country eligibility depends on the source material, and the establishment must be approved for export to Great Britain. If the veterinary or CITES requirement remains unclear, ask your customs broker to confirm it before shipment.

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.