Sourcing salted egg yolks from China

Weight-based duty on salted egg yolks

Heading 0408 covers eggs out of shell and egg yolks, including dried, cooked, frozen and otherwise preserved forms. For separated salted yolks supplied as preserved non-liquid yolks, check 0408 19 89 00 first. Liquid and dried yolks have separate lines. The non-food row is a classification comparison, not an option for bakery ingredients.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, the Chinese-origin edible yolk lines carried £55.00 per 100kg for other preserved yolks, £51.00 per 100kg for liquid yolks and £119.00 per 100kg for dried yolks. The supplied data records no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. It attaches veterinary and organic-product import controls. Confirm the organic-control requirements with your customs broker and organic control body if buying organic goods.

Confirm the commodity code against the ingredients, processing and supplied form. See the wider egg yolk powder guide. There is no suitable plain-percentage food-grade line for the requested worked example; the illustrative value fields do not constitute a duty calculation.

Specify the yolk, curing and import route

Specify duck or hen yolks, whole or broken pieces, raw or cooked condition, salt content, moisture, colour and texture. Agree acceptable white carry-over, shell fragments and oil release. Test the sample in the intended mooncake, pastry or sauce recipe, since an attractive sample may crumble or become too salty after cooking.

For imports into Great Britain, check country approval and the residue monitoring plan before ordering. Egg products must come from an establishment approved to export to Great Britain. Confirm the applicable health certification, IPAFFS pre-notification and border control post arrangements with APHA or your customs broker. Ask the broker to confirm any additional China-specific residue declarations and testing.

Agree sealed packaging, storage conditions, remaining shelf life on arrival and batch identification. For retail packs, check that allergens are listed in the ingredients and highlighted using a different font, style or background colour.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative percentage-duty example unavailable: edible yolk lines have weight-based duties. under 0408 19 20 00, invoiced at £42,000 free on board, with £3,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £45,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £45,500, so it is £9,100. 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

Yolk condition: compare size, colour, firmness, breakage and white carry-over with the agreed sample; cut yolks open to inspect the centre.

Recipe performance: check salt content and moisture against the specification, then repeat the intended cooking trial with a batch sample.

Packing and storage: check seals, leaks, crushed packs, date marks and batch codes; compare transport records with the agreed storage conditions.

Documents and labels: match the factory, batch and product description across the health documentation and test reports; check ingredient information and allergen highlighting. Arrange quality inspection around these checks.

What goes wrong

A sample approved for colour alone can hide uneven curing, excessive salt or a texture that fails during baking. Whole yolks may arrive broken, while damaged seals and inconsistent storage can undermine the agreed shelf life. Set acceptance criteria around the finished recipe as well as the unopened product.

A supplier's export history does not settle the approval or documentation for your consignment. Check the actual producing establishment and import route before paying for production. Keep batch samples and use testing support to agree the laboratory work needed for your product.

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.