Sourcing polypropylene granules from China

6%, with listed grades at 0%

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, polypropylene, polyisobutylene, propylene copolymers and other olefin polymers in primary forms, heading 3902, carried 6% on goods from China on most lines, with no anti-dumping measure. Styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymer (3902 90 10 00) and polybut-1-ene copolymer (3902 90 20 00) carried 0%.

Autonomous suspensions give 0% until 31 December 2028 to several listed grades: a polypropylene with a stated melting point, heat of fusion and elongation (3902 10 00 20), listed polypropylene compounds with set glass fibre and mica contents under 3902 10 00 90, hydrogenated polyisobutene in liquid form (3902 20 00 20), polyisobutylene of a set molecular weight, and listed block copolymers and poly-alpha-olefins. Suspensions on the residual lines are claimed with document code 9Y12 and do not cover mixtures, so a general-purpose homopolymer or copolymer stays at 6%.

Polyethylene and EVA are in our polyethylene and EVA granules guide, and polypropylene film, sheet and fibre are classified as finished forms, not primary forms. Confirm the commodity code from the grade's datasheet.

Food contact, REACH and packaging tax

Polypropylene for food containers, caps and film must comply with retained [Regulation (EU) No 10/2011](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2011/10/contents) on plastic food contact materials, so ask for a declaration of compliance naming the grade, the migration testing behind it and any dual-use additives. See food contact materials.

Polymers are exempt from UK REACH registration, but monomers and additives above one tonne a year may need registering unless already covered up the chain; see UK REACH for importers. Plastic Packaging Tax is charged on finished packaging, not on imported granules, but your customers will ask for recycled content evidence.

Specifying a grade

Polypropylene is bought on melt flow rate, which sets whether a grade suits injection moulding, fibre, film or thermoforming, and on homopolymer, random or impact copolymer type, density, flexural modulus, impact strength, and additives such as nucleating, antistatic, UV or slip agents. Name the reference grade you run today and ask for the datasheet test methods, so the Chinese grade is compared on the same basis.

Compounds filled with talc, calcium carbonate or glass fibre are bought on filler content and colour as well; recycled grades need their source and contamination limits agreed in writing.

Worked duty example

Suppose, purely for illustration, you import 24 tonnes of injection-moulding polypropylene homopolymer granules under 3902 10 00 90. At £26,000 free on board and £2,000 to ship and insure, the customs value is £28,000. Polypropylene granules at 6% pay £1,680 of duty; VAT is then worked out on value plus duty, £29,680, giving £5,936. Of the £7,616 paid at import, only the £1,680 of duty stays a cost for a VAT-registered business. The method is set out in how UK import duty and VAT work.

Inspection checklist

Flow and density: test melt flow rate to ISO 1133-1 at 230 °C and 2.16 kg and density to ISO 1183-1 on samples from several bags or lots, and compare with the certificate of analysis and the approved grade.

Mechanical and filler: mould test bars and check tensile properties to ISO 527-2, flexural modulus to ISO 178 and notched impact to ISO 179-1, and for filled compounds measure filler content by ash to ISO 3451-1.

Pellets and packing: check pellets for colour, black specks, fines and foreign granules on a white tray, check 25 kg bags or big bags for tears and sealed liners, and match lot numbers on bags to the certificates.

What goes wrong

Polypropylene fails on grade drift and contamination. Melt flow rate moves between lots so moulding settings change, an impact copolymer is swapped for a cheaper homopolymer that cracks in the cold, filled compounds come in with less or more filler than stated, and pellets carry black specks or other polymers that show on light-coloured parts.

Run a moulding trial on the first lot before a big order, test each lot against the approved sample, and inspect pellets and bags before loading. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources polypropylene granules and compounds for moulders, packaging makers and compounders, and can add a second producer alongside your current grade. See second supplier.