Sourcing Pollock oil from China

Pollock oil duty and import controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 October 2026, heading 1504 covers fish oils and their fractions, refined or not, but not chemically modified. Pollock body oil other than solid fractions carries 0%; solid fractions carry 10%. Pollock liver oil carries 2% where vitamin A does not exceed 2 500 International Units per gram, otherwise 0%. The supplied lines show no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspensions.

For food-grade Pollock oil, confirm country and establishment eligibility and any pre-notification requirements with the relevant authority or customs broker before arrival. Medium and high risk imports need a health certificate; confirm the documentation for low risk imports with your broker. Confirm the product's risk category before shipping. For feed or technical oil, ask the relevant authority to confirm whether animal by-product import conditions apply. The tariff attaches veterinary control, including a common health entry document for animal-origin products; confirm the applicable documents with your customs broker.

The tariff also attaches organic, CITES and waste import controls, and CITES and waste export controls. Confirm their applicability and requirements with your customs broker rather than assuming every attachment requires a permit for your oil. For organic goods, also consult your approved UK organic control body. Confirm the commodity code using the source tissue, physical form and processing details. See the wider fish oil guide.

Specify the Pollock source and oil grade

Ask the factory to identify the exact fish species, fishery, raw-material supplier and whether the oil comes from body tissue or liver. State whether you need a food ingredient, feed ingredient or technical oil. Record refining steps, any blending and added antioxidants. Do not accept a generic fish oil specification as proof that the batch is Pollock oil.

Agree EPA and DHA content, peroxide and anisidine values, total oxidation value, free fatty acids, shelf life and storage conditions. For food-grade oil, confirm applicable marine-oil dioxin and PCB limits with the relevant authority. Specify independent batch testing and sealed packing that protects against oxygen and heat. For prepacked food, allergens must be highlighted on the label.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 1 tonne of refined Pollock body oil in sealed drums under 1504 20 90 00, invoiced at £4,000 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £6,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £6,500, so it is £1,300. 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: match the species, body or liver source, refining description and batch identifiers across the order, production records and analysis certificate.

Laboratory: independently sample the shipment and compare fatty-acid composition, oxidation results, dioxins, PCBs and heavy metals with the agreed specification.

Documents: match the producer's approval and applicable import documents to the actual oil grade and shipment, rather than accepting certificates for another product.

Arrival: check drum seals, leakage, batch labels, storage records and any rancid odour; hold suspect batches for testing before use.

What goes wrong

A supplier quotes Pollock oil but provides analysis for an unspecified fish-oil blend. Body oil and liver oil are confused, or oxidation results describe the production sample rather than the shipped batch. Ask for traceable batch records and test a shipment sample.

Food, feed and technical grades are treated as interchangeable, leaving the documents inconsistent with the intended use. Heat, oxygen or damaged seals can also undermine the agreed quality during transport. Set the import route before ordering and arrange quality inspection around both documents and physical samples.

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.