Sourcing salted jellyfish from China

10% duty on salted jellyfish

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 0308 covers aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs in forms including salted or brined products. Salted Rhopilema jellyfish falls within the supplied other-jellyfish line, 0308 30 80 90, carrying 10% duty from China. No anti-dumping or countervailing duty or suspension is recorded. The table shows different purchase forms sharing that line, rather than separate tariff categories.

The salted-jellyfish line carries veterinary, illegal fishing and organic import controls. Confirm the veterinary documents, including the Common Health Entry Document, with your customs broker. The UK Trade Tariff attaches illegal fishing control; ask your broker to confirm catch-certificate applicability and any aquaculture exemption for the proposed goods. For organic food from China entering Great Britain, confirm the consignment's certificate-of-inspection requirements with your customs broker and organic control body.

Confirm the scientific species, salted or brined condition and processing description using our commodity code guide. Ask your broker to check cooked, seasoned or otherwise prepared products separately. Frozen jellyfish has a different supplied line and duty. See the aquatic invertebrates guide for the wider heading. These border arrangements concern Great Britain; check Northern Ireland separately.

Specify cuts, salt treatment and drained weight

Specify the scientific species, bell or tentacle cuts, cut size, salt treatment, moisture, declared additives and drained weight. Agree the soaking and rinsing method used to assess texture against the approved sample. State whether the product needs further preparation before eating, and agree storage instructions and packaging.

Before ordering for food use, confirm approval for the exporting country, establishment and exact product category with the port health authority. Ask that authority or your customs broker to confirm whether the consignment requires pre-notification through IPAFFS. Agree the applicable health documentation and border route before loading; a tariff code alone does not establish permission to import.

For jellyfish packed in brine, the label must show drained net weight. Agree a draining method for purchase acceptance so the supplier's pack weight can be compared with usable jellyfish weight.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative hypothetical order: 2 tonnes of salted jellyfish under 0308 30 80 90, invoiced at £16,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £17,500. Duty at 10% is £1,750. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £19,250, so it is £3,850. Import taxes total £5,600; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,750 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 scientific species, bell or tentacle form, cuts and batch markings to the specification and shipping documents.

Usable weight: measure drained weight using the agreed method and compare the result with the approved sample and purchase specification.

Texture and condition: prepare samples using the agreed soaking method; check for soft or fragmented cuts, foreign matter, leaking packs and damaged seals.

Treatment and labels: compare salt, moisture, declared additives, laboratory results, preparation instructions and storage information with the agreed specification.

What goes wrong

Salt and brine can conceal a shortfall in usable jellyfish. Cuts may arrive softer or more fragmented than the sample, while inconsistent salt treatment changes the preparation needed. Keep an approved sample and a written draining and preparation method. Our inspection guide explains how to arrange checks.

A supplier's general seafood approval can be mistaken for approval of the proposed jellyfish product. Check the exact establishment and product category before paying for production. Resolve differences between species names, certificate descriptions and carton markings before shipment.

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.