Urea and nitrogen fertilisers from China

6% or 6.5%, with suspensions

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, mineral or chemical nitrogenous fertilisers of heading 3102 carried 6% on goods from China for urea, ammonium sulphate and most other lines, and 6.5% for ammonium nitrate other than in solution, mixtures with more than 28% nitrogen, and solid fertilisers with more than 80% ammonium nitrate. Natural Chilean sodium nitrate was 0%, and no line had an anti-dumping measure. Nitrogen fertilisers are declared with a supplementary unit of kilograms of nitrogen.

Urea of 97% purity or more for making particle and fibre boards or as a diesel additive is suspended to 0% until 31 December 2026, claimed with document code 9Y12, and urea and ammonium nitrate solution (3102 80 00 00) has a 0% suspension from 5 August 2026 to 31 December 2028, declared with the additional code the tariff sets.

Compound NPK, DAP and MAP fertilisers are in our NPK, DAP and MAP guide; confirm the commodity code from the analysis.

Fertiliser rules and ammonium nitrate

Fertilisers sold in Great Britain must be labelled with their type and nutrient content under the Fertilisers Regulations 1991 or as a fertiliser type under retained Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003. Ammonium nitrate lines carry an import control in the tariff, and straight ammonium nitrate fertiliser with more than 28% nitrogen from ammonium nitrate must pass a detonation resistance test under the Ammonium Nitrate Materials (High Nitrogen Content) Safety Regulations 2003 before it can be supplied.

Ammonium nitrate is also an oxidising dangerous good in transport and an explosives precursor, so check storage, security and customer checks before ordering. Urea sold as AdBlue diesel exhaust fluid must meet ISO 22241-1 once made into the 32.5% solution.

Specifying fertiliser

Nitrogen fertilisers are bought on nitrogen content, moisture, granule or prill size distribution and crushing strength, and anti-caking coating; urea also on biuret, which matters for foliar use and AdBlue, and ammonium sulphate on free acid and colour. Bulk and big-bag loads cake if moisture gets in, so packing and dry holds are part of the order.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 500 tonnes of granular ammonium sulphate in big bags, commodity code 3102 21 00 00, bought for £70,000 free on board, with £15,000 of freight and insurance, so £85,000 is the value customs works from. Duty at the 6% rate for ammonium sulphate is £5,100. VAT at 20% applies to £90,100, so £18,020. A VAT-registered buyer usually recovers the VAT, so the border adds £5,100 to the landed cost. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

Inspection checklist

Sampling: have the independent inspector draw samples from bags or the bulk by the method of BS EN 1482-1, so the analysis represents the whole lot rather than a sample chosen by the factory.

Analysis: test nitrogen content, moisture and, for urea, biuret against the contract, and check granule size distribution by test sieving and caking tendency on the same samples.

Ammonium nitrate and packing: for high-nitrogen ammonium nitrate, check the detonation resistance test certificate covers the lot, and check big bags for liners, seams and labels showing the fertiliser type and nutrient declaration.

What goes wrong

Fertiliser fails on nitrogen, moisture and paperwork. Urea tests below 46% nitrogen or with high biuret, granules break down to dust or cake into blocks after a wet voyage, ammonium sulphate carries too much free acid, labels miss the declared nutrients, and ammonium nitrate arrives without the certificate needed to supply it.

Use independent sampling and a UK laboratory for the first lot, specify packing and moisture limits, and check ammonium nitrate documents before shipping. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources urea, ammonium sulphate and other nitrogen fertilisers for distributors, blenders and AdBlue makers, usually by the full container or bulk parcel. See container programmes.