Import rules · updated 29 September 2026
Importing Brazilian sugar into China: duty, permits and documents.
China is conditional for white sugar. Inside the tariff quota, sugar pays 15%; the 2026 quota is 1.945 million tonnes, 70% of it reserved for state trading, and only refiners, past quota holders that actually imported, and processing-trade firms may apply. Outside the quota, the duty is 50% and an automatic import licence is required. Every shipment also needs its producer registered with China customs (GACC); the supplier I represent is registered for sugar. Brazil shipped 4.74 million tonnes of raw sugar to China in 2025, but only 2,105 tonnes of white.
Brazil’s sugar trade with China
In 2025 Brazil exported 4,741,947 tonnes of raw sugar (NCM 1701.14) to China, worth 1.90 billion US dollars FOB, and only 2,105 tonnes of white sugar (NCM 1701.99). China buys Brazilian sugar mainly as raw sugar for its refiners, so a white-sugar cargo from Brazil is a small, unusual flow.
Importing into China? Send your grade, quantity and discharge port. You pay the supplier directly, never me.
Send a requirement →The tariff quota
- Volume and duty. The 2026 sugar quota is 1.945 million tonnes at 15% duty, with 70% reserved for state trading. White sugar lines are eligible inside the quota.
- Who may apply. Companies registered before 1 October of the previous year, with a clean compliance record, that held quota last year and imported against it, or refine at least 600 tonnes of raw sugar a day, or are processing-trade firms using imported sugar. A trader with no import record does not qualify.
- When. The Ministry of Commerce publishes each year’s rules around the end of September, and applications run in the second half of October. Unused quota is returned and redistributed in September.
Outside the quota
| Charge | Rate | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty, white sugar outside the quota | 50% | State Council tariff announcement 2025 No. 11, 26 Dec 2025 |
| Customs duty inside the quota | 15% | same announcement |
| Import licence outside the quota | Automatic import licence required | MOFCOM/GACC Automatic Import Licence Catalogue 2026, in force 1 Jan 2026 |
Brazil has no free trade agreement with China, so the most-favoured-nation rates above apply.
GACC registration and labels
- The overseas producer of imported food must be registered with GACC, and the registration number must appear on the packaging (GACC Decree 280, in force since 1 June 2026, replacing Decree 248). The supplier I represent is registered for sugar; confirm that the registration covers your exact tariff line before you contract.
- Prepackaged food needs a Chinese label that meets Chinese standards (GACC Decree 249). The labelling standard GB 7718-2011 applies until GB 7718-2025 takes effect on 16 March 2027.
- The food-safety standard for sugar is GB 13104-2014; the quality standard for white granulated sugar is GB/T 317-2018.
What to confirm before you order
- Whether you hold quota, or will import at 50% with an automatic licence.
- That the producer’s GACC registration covers your tariff line.
- The 2027 quota rules, once the Ministry of Commerce publishes them.
Rules on this page were checked against the sources below on 29 September 2026. Duties, levies and permits change, sometimes by decree. Confirm every figure with China’s customs authority before you order. See all countries.
Know your permits and your port? That is everything I need to request a current supplier response.
Send a requirement →Sources
- ComexStat (MDIC), Brazilian exports by NCM 1701.99.00 and 1701.14.00, January–December 2025, via api-comexstat.mdic.gov.br, retrieved 29 Sep 2026
- MOFCOM Announcement 2025 No. 64, 2026 sugar import tariff-quota application and distribution rules, 30 Sep 2025: https://wms.mofcom.gov.cn/blggtbzz/art/2025/art_20d8d4e275f148f884b6a64d49fe3b6d.html
- State Council tariff announcement 2025 No. 11, 26 Dec 2025, annex 2: https://gss.mof.gov.cn/gzdt/zhengcefabu/202512/P020251229510521470214.pdf
- MOFCOM/GACC, Automatic Import Licence Goods Catalogue 2026, 10 Dec 2025: https://wms.mofcom.gov.cn/zcfb/wmgl/art/2025/art_c45aa929a32a4860b11b5504fb27ff72.html
- NDRC/MOFCOM Announcement 2026 No. 4 on quota return and redistribution, 14 Aug 2026: https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfb/gg/202608/t20260814_1407029.html
- GACC Decree 280, registration of overseas producers of imported food (in force 1 Jun 2026): https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/2025/issue_12426/202511/content_7049741.html; GACC Decree 249: https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2021-03/12/content_5723373.htm
- GACC CIFER register of overseas manufacturers of imported food, checked 8 Oct 2026: https://ciferquery.singlewindow.cn/
Checked on 29 September 2026. Rules and web pages change; check the source before you rely on a detail.