Import tariffs come off 101 foods including baked beans and chocolate from 26 November
The Budget suspends duty on imported foods from garlic and avocados to ketchup and soup until the end of 2028, with kerosene heating oil and fertiliser also included.
Importers will pay no tariff on 101 food products from Thursday 26 November, under a package confirmed in Wednesday's Budget. The list runs from garlic, gherkins and avocados to boiled sweets, chocolate and baked beans.
The suspensions last until 31 December 2028. Kerosene heating oil is covered for the same period, and a range of farm fertilisers is covered until 31 December 2027.
The Treasury expects the food suspensions to reduce costs for consumers by £120m to £185m a year. Taken together with the package of tariff suspensions on food in June, it puts the saving at £245m to £595m. The Budget documents do not give a figure for any single product.
What is on the list
The Department for Business and Trade has published the full list by commodity code. Products that shoppers will recognise include:
- fresh garlic, aubergines, sweet peppers, olives, figs, avocados and plantains
- dried apricots, peaches and pears, and mixes of dried fruit and nuts
- green tea, quinoa, buckwheat and couscous
- margarine, boiled sweets, toffees, throat pastilles and cough drops
- cocoa powder, chocolate bars and boxed chocolates, and chocolate spreads
- baked beans, tomato ketchup and other tomato sauces, and soups
- soya drinks and other plant-based drinks
- puréed vegetables packed for sale as baby food
- citrus jams and marmalades, and preserved mandarins and grapefruit segments
The new rate is 0%. The suspensions do not apply to goods that originate in Russia or Belarus.
Why it is happening
The government said the move was meant to help households with food prices that have risen since the conflict in the Middle East began. The Department for Business and Trade ran a call for input on the idea from 27 May to 24 June and received 103 responses from businesses, trade bodies, members of the public, public sector organisations and non-governmental organisations. It said most supported the proposals, while some raised concerns about the effect on UK producers, developing countries, health and the environment.
For businesses
Separately, the Budget extends existing tariff suspensions on 269 goods used by businesses, such as grape juice, tomato paste and bicycle tyres, which had been due to expire at the end of 2026. Firms that want tariffs removed on other products they import can apply in a new window that opens on 11 November and closes on 3 February 2027.
