Sourcing raw ginkgo nuts from China

Raw ginkgo nuts: code and duty

Heading 0802 covers nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled. Raw ginkgo nuts fit the residual other-nuts description under 0802 99 90 00, subject to confirmation for the actual goods. The table shows different product forms sharing that code, rather than separate tariff lines. For the wider heading, see walnuts and pine nuts.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, the residual line carried 2% duty for goods from China, with no listed anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. Organic import control is attached. For organic consignments from China into Great Britain, arrange a certificate of inspection and accompanying documents for each shipment; the exporter’s control body issues the certificate. Confirm the arrangements with your customs broker and organic control body.

Give your broker the species, photographs, shell status and full processing description. Confirm the commodity code before shipment, especially if the supplier describes cooked, frozen or seasoned goods as raw.

Specify the ginkgo nut and its intended preparation

Specify ginkgo nuts as a food ingredient, identifying the species as Ginkgo biloba. State fresh or dried, in shell or shelled, and whether the inner skin and embryo remain. Agree kernel size, colour, moisture, broken kernels, shell fragments and the removal of outer fruit flesh. Record all drying and other processing steps.

Unsafe food must not be placed on the market. Obtain a product-specific food safety assessment covering the intended preparation and use, and agree preparation instructions with a food safety specialist. Do not approve those instructions solely from factory assurances. Agree batch testing, storage conditions and packaging before placing the order.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 10 tonnes of dried raw ginkgo nuts in shell, illustrative only under 0802 99 90 00, invoiced at £26,000 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £28,500. Duty at 2% is £570. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £29,070, so it is £5,814. Import taxes total £6,384; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £570 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

Identity: match the nuts, shell status, skin and embryo removal to the approved sample and specification.

Condition: open sampled shells and check kernels for mould, discolouration, insect damage, shrivelling and foreign matter; do not rely on shell appearance.

Packing: inspect seals, moisture ingress and carton damage, and match batch identifiers to the packing list and test reports.

Documents: check that reports describe the supplied raw product and batch; for organic shipments, match the certificate and accompanying documents to the goods. Plan the checks using our inspection guide.

What goes wrong

A clean shell can conceal a damaged kernel. A shelled sample may also differ from bulk goods in skin removal, embryo removal or broken content. Describe these features separately in the purchase specification and inspect the shipment against them.

Another failure is treating a raw ingredient as a finished snack without assessing its intended preparation. Hold suspect stock apart while its condition and safety are assessed. Resolve missing organic documents before dispatch rather than relying on a supplier’s organic label.

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.