Sourcing shrimp meal from China

Shrimp meal classification and duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 2301 covers animal flours, meals and pellets unfit for human consumption. Shrimp meal falls within its crustacean line, 2301 20 00 00, carrying 0% duty for goods from China. No anti-dumping or countervailing duty or suspension is recorded. The table shows commercial forms within the same tariff line, rather than separate commodity codes.

The line attaches veterinary, CITES, organic and waste import controls. Animal by-product imports into Great Britain require advance notification through IPAFFS and entry through an approved border control post. Check species against CITES: listed specimens require permits. The tariff also attaches CITES and waste export controls. For organic or waste status, ask your customs broker to confirm the applicable requirements before shipment.

Confirm the commodity code using the shrimp species, raw material, processing method, additives and intended use. This guide concerns meal unfit for human consumption. For the wider heading, see fishmeal and animal meal.

Specify the shrimp material and intended feed use

State whether the meal uses whole shrimp, heads, shells or a declared mixture. Agree crude protein, fat, moisture, ash, salt, chitin and particle size against a representative sample. Specify any carrier, preservative or other addition. Shell-rich meal can meet a visual description while missing the protein level needed by your feed formulation.

Government guidance treats dried aquatic invertebrates from approved animal by-product premises as fishmeal for non-ruminant farm feed. The fishmeal import route requires an eligible country and an establishment approved to export to Great Britain. Ask APHA to confirm the route and Chinese country eligibility for the exact product before ordering. Obtain the applicable health certificate and check its risk-category requirements.

For sale as feed, ask the relevant feed authority to confirm importer registration and feed-material naming and declaration requirements alongside the animal by-product controls. Agree the intended animals and label wording before approving production.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 12 tonnes of whole-shrimp meal under 2301 20 00 00, invoiced at £30,000 free on board, with £3,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £33,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £33,500, so it is £6,700. 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 the declared shrimp species, head and shell content, processing description and producing plant to the purchase specification and shipment documents.

Analysis: independently sample the shipment and compare protein, moisture, ash, salt and chitin with the contract; request contaminant and microbiological testing suited to the intended feed use.

Condition: check for damp clumps, mould, rancid odour, insects and foreign material at loading and arrival; examine bag liners, seams and signs of water entry.

Labels and batches: match bag lot identifiers to the analysis and shipment documents. Processed animal protein must bear a warning that it is not for human consumption.

What goes wrong

More shells than agreed can raise ash and chitin while reducing usable protein. Damp meal may cake or develop mould, and rancidity can make a shipment unsuitable for the buyer's formulation. Keep an agreed reference sample and retained shipment samples so a disagreement can be investigated.

A supplier's ordinary business licence does not establish approval for this import route. Resolve plant approval and certification before dispatch. Fishmeal for animal feed is sampled for microscopy at the border control post and held pending the result, so do not plan immediate release into production.

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.