Sesame oil and tung oil from China

0% to 8% by oil and use

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, crude sesame oil carried 6% duty on goods from China, other sesame oil, including refined and toasted oil, 8%, and sesame oil for technical or industrial uses other than food 4% under the authorised-use procedure. Tung oil, jojoba and oiticica oils carried 0%, and other fixed vegetable oils of the heading 6% or 8%, with no anti-dumping measure. A 0% suspension covers only named microbial and specialty oils rich in arachidonic acid or DHA.

Sesame seeds are covered in our sesame and pumpkin seeds guide, and sauces and dressings containing sesame oil are preparations of other headings. Confirm the commodity code from whether the oil is crude and what it will be used for.

Allergens, contaminants and wood finishes

Sesame is one of the 14 allergens that must be emphasised in the ingredients list under the retained food information Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, so sesame oil and any product containing it need allergen labelling, and a factory that also handles peanuts or other allergens should state its controls. Retained Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 sets maximum levels for benzo[a]pyrene and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in oils, which matters for toasted oil where roasting can raise them.

Tung oil is a drying oil used on wood and in coatings, not a food oil, and it must be safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 when sold to consumers. Cloths soaked in drying oils can heat up and ignite as the oil cures, so retail packs usually carry a warning to lay rags flat to dry or soak them in water before disposal.

Worked duty example

A hypothetical order, not a quote: 5 tonnes of refined or toasted sesame oil under 1515 50 99 00, bought for £18,000 free on board with £1,500 of freight and insurance, so the customs value is £19,500. Duty at 8% is £1,560. Edible oil is food and zero-rated for VAT, so no import VAT is due and the landed cost before clearance fees is £21,060. The same value of tung oil for wood finishing under 1515 90 11 00 pays no duty but 20% import VAT, £3,900, which a VAT-registered buyer normally reclaims. See UK import duty and VAT.

What goes wrong

Oil lots fail on authenticity and freshness. Sesame oil is blended with cheaper soybean or other oils while still sold as pure; toasted oil is too dark or bitter from over-roasting; acid and peroxide values rise in hot transit so the oil turns rancid; and tung oil is thinned or blended with other drying oils so it dries slowly and soft.

Test each lot for fatty acid profile by gas chromatography to ISO 12966-2 to catch blending, acid value to ISO 660, peroxide value to ISO 3960 and, for tung oil, iodine value to ISO 3961 and drying time on a test panel, check colour and flavour against the approved sample, and check drum or flexitank cleanliness and seals before filling.

Cambridge China Bridge sources sesame oil for food manufacturers and distributors and tung oil for finishing and coatings makers, with authenticity testing agreed before shipment. See our container programmes.