Sourcing Stockfish from China

Stockfish duty by species and form

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 5 October 2026, heading 0305 covers dried, salted, brined and smoked fish. This guide concerns unsalted, air-dried stockfish. The supplied Greenland cod and blue ling dried-fish lines carry 12%; the Pacific cod fillet line carries 16%. Related unsalted Pacific cod edible offal carries 12%, but is a separate product. No anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or suspension is recorded for these selected lines.

The selected lines carry veterinary, illegal fishing and organic import controls. For food entering Great Britain, check establishment approval, health certification, advance notification and the border control post route. Ask your broker or the relevant authority to confirm whether wild-caught fish needs a validated catch certificate and whether organic consignments from China need a certificate of inspection. Such inspection certificates are issued by the exporter's control body. Ask your broker to confirm the Common Health Entry Document and the tariff's CITES export control attached to the related offal line.

The supplied data does not include an Atlantic cod stockfish line. Do not substitute another cod species' code. Confirm scientific species, whole fish or fillets, unsalted condition and processing through our commodity code guide. For salted and smoked products, see the wider fish guide.

Specify unsalted drying and rehydration

Specify scientific species, raw-fish origin, drying location, whole or split form, skin and bone content, size grade and whether heads are included. Require an unsalted, unsmoked product description rather than accepting the supplier's general description of dried cod. Agree moisture, packaging, storage conditions and the method for checking rehydration and texture against an approved sample.

Before ordering, check that the exporting country and establishment are approved for the exact product. Health certificates must be completed and signed by an authorised certifying officer. Match the proposed certificate description to the species, processing and packing specification. Our factory verification service supports checks on the producer.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative hypothetical order: 2 tonnes of unsalted dried Greenland cod; values are illustrative, not a quotation. under 0305 51 10 20, 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 12% is £2,100. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £19,600, so it is £3,920. Import taxes total £6,020; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,100 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: compare species, whole or fillet form, skin, bones and batch marks with the specification and shipping documents.

Dryness and condition: check moisture against the agreed method; inspect for mould, insects, damp patches, foreign matter and damaged packaging.

Rehydration: use the agreed preparation method and compare texture, odour, breakage and usable yield with the approved sample.

Weight and labels: check pack weight, seals, storage instructions and English retail information, including species, production method, area, allergens and UK address.

What goes wrong

Salted dried cod may be offered as stockfish, or another species supplied under a familiar trade name. Whole fish, fillets and edible offal can also be confused when selecting the code. Resolve differences between the sample, invoice, carton description and certificates before shipment.

Uneven drying or moisture entering damaged packs can leave damp centres and mould. Rehydrated fish may be brittle, tough or inconsistent with the sample. Record arrival condition, keep affected batches separate and investigate before release. Use our inspection guide to organise checks.

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.