Sourcing pickled mustard greens from China

Preservation method and added sugar

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 24 October 2026, heading 2001 covers edible plant products prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid. The relevant residual lines for mustard greens carry 16% from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension recorded. The table repeats these codes for whole and chopped buying formats; cutting does not create a separate line here.

The tariff attaches veterinary and organic import controls. For Chinese recipes containing animal ingredients, follow the animal-product import guidance and ask your customs broker to confirm permission and the applicable veterinary documents. Organic shipments from China into Great Britain require a certificate of inspection for each consignment and checks against the non-UK organic registers.

Confirm the commodity code using the ingredient list, preservation process and added sugar declaration. Do not assume a salt-fermented product belongs here simply because its name says pickled. See the wider vinegar-preserved vegetables guide for the heading's other products.

Specify the greens, liquor and packing

Specify the mustard variety, whole leaves or chopped pieces, stalk proportion, cut consistency, colour and acceptable fibre. Approve a reference sample for crunch, sourness, saltiness and any chilli or sweetening. Record whether vinegar or acetic acid is the preservation medium rather than relying on a translated product name.

Agree drained weight, liquor quantity, acidity, salt, additives, heat treatment, shelf life and storage conditions. Choose jars or pouches and obtain packaging suitability evidence for acidic contents. Confirm with the relevant food authority the label requirements for food in a liquid medium, including drained net weight as well as net quantity, allergen emphasis and the UK business’s address.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 1 tonne of chopped mustard greens preserved in vinegar, without added sugar under 2001 90 97 91, invoiced at £2,000 free on board, with £200 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £2,200. Duty at 16% is £352. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £2,552, so it is £510.40. Import taxes total £862.40; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £352 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

Greens: compare sampled packs with the approved leaf, stalk and cut specification; check for grit, tough stems, discolouration and soft texture.

Fill: drain and weigh the vegetables against the declared drained weight; compare liquor quantity and pack fill with the specification.

Stability: test acidity and salt against agreed values, review batch microbiology and heat-treatment records, and check for swollen pouches, gas or leaking seals.

Labels and packing: check the English ingredients, emphasised allergens, additives, drained weight, business address and batch identity; inspect jar closures or pouch seams. Use the inspection guide to agree the inspection scope.

What goes wrong

A sample can contain tender leaves while the shipment contains mostly fibrous stalks. Excess liquor reduces usable yield, inconsistent chopping complicates kitchen portioning, and a change in salt or acidity changes the flavour. Weak pouch seams or inadequate processing can produce leaks, gas and swollen packs.

A supplier may use the same English name for vinegar-preserved greens and salt-fermented greens. Get the process and recipe in writing before classification. Approve the English label before printing, retain batch samples and hold leaking or swollen packs for investigation.

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.