Sourcing Rapeseed Meal from China

Rapeseed meal duty and attached controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 October 2026, heading 2306 covers oilcake and other solid residues from oil extraction, including ground material and pellets. Rapeseed meal falls under 2306 41 00 00 for low erucic acid rape or colza seeds, or 2306 49 00 00 for other rape or colza seeds. Both carry 0% duty for goods from China. The supplied record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspensions.

Both codes carry organic import and waste import controls, plus a waste export control. Confirm organic importer establishment and certification requirements with your organic control body or customs broker. The organic inspection certificate is issued by the exporter's control body; confirm the certificate and clearance requirements for Chinese organic meal with your customs broker. Waste controls apply where the material is waste. For imports under notification controls, the Chinese exporter must apply to its competent authority for consent. Confirm applicable import and any later export requirements with your broker.

Confirm the commodity code using seed identity, extraction details and supporting analysis. Loose meal and pellets share the relevant seed-based code, so the table repeats each code for these forms. For the wider heading, see the cottonseed meal guide.

Specify seed type, extraction and glucosinolates

Specify low erucic acid or other rapeseed, expeller cake or solvent-extracted meal, and loose or pelleted delivery. Agree crude protein, residual oil, fibre, moisture, ash and glucosinolates against the intended feed formulation. Ask the laboratory to state the reporting basis so results can be compared with the contract.

Confirm feed-business registration, feed material naming, statutory declarations and applicable undesirable substance limits with the competent authority. Feed sold in Great Britain must also identify the feed business operator responsible for labelling by name or business name and address. Request the batch analysis, GM status and draft label or bulk documentation before approving shipment.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 12 tonnes of low erucic acid rapeseed meal for animal feed under 2306 41 00 00, invoiced at £3,500 free on board, with £2,680 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £6,180. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £6,180, so it is £1,236. 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 seed type, extraction process and loose or pellet form to the contract and batch documents.

Analysis: independently sample the lot and compare protein, oil, fibre, moisture, ash and glucosinolates with the specification; test relevant contaminants against feed limits.

Condition: inspect at loading and arrival for heating, mould, insects, caking and damaged bags; compare arrival samples with retained loading samples.

Documents: match batch references to analysis reports and delivery records; check feed declarations, GM labelling and organic paperwork where applicable. Agree sampling through the quality inspection guide.

What goes wrong

A supplier's sample can conceal variation across the shipment. Protein below contract reduces feeding value, while changes in residual oil, fibre or glucosinolates can make the meal unsuitable for the buyer's formulation. Specify the extraction process and require representative sampling rather than accepting a selected factory sample.

Damp meal can cake, grow mould or heat during transport. Undeclared GM origin can disrupt the buyer's supply chain, and incomplete organic paperwork can delay clearance. Agree loading condition, packaging, storage and document checks before dispatch, then investigate arrival differences before accepting the 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.