EU Keeps Anti-Dumping Duty on Canned Mandarins from China

European Union keeps its extra import tax on Chinese canned mandarins, clementines and satsumas, in a regulation published Oct. 22, 2026.

The European Commission on Oct. 22, 2026 kept its anti-dumping duty on canned mandarins, clementines and satsumas from China after a review¹.

The duty is an anti-dumping duty, an extra import tax on goods sold abroad below their normal price. The European Union (EU) first set it on these Chinese goods in 2008¹.

In short, canned mandarin segments shipped from China into the EU will keep paying an extra charge per tonne at the border. Nothing changes for a shipment that already pays it, but the charge does not end.

What did the Commission decide on canned mandarins?

The new law is Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2327 of Oct. 21, 2026¹. It was published in the EU’s Official Journal on Oct. 22, 2026¹.

The regulation imposes a definitive anti-dumping duty on certain prepared or preserved citrus fruits from China¹. "Definitive" means a final duty, not a temporary one set during an investigation. The Commission acted after an expiry review, a check made when a duty is about to end¹.

An expiry review asks one question. Would cheap imports and harm to EU producers return if the duty stopped? The Commission answered yes and kept the measure¹.

Which goods does the duty cover?

The duty covers prepared or preserved mandarins, including tangerines and satsumas¹. It also covers clementines, wilkings and other similar small citrus hybrids¹.

The goods must contain no added spirit, such as alcohol. They are covered whether or not they contain added sugar or other sweeteners¹.

The Commission calls these goods "canned mandarins"¹. Factories make them by peeling and splitting small citrus fruits, mainly satsumas, into segments¹. The segments are then packed in sugar syrup, juice or water, in different sizes for different markets¹.

The goods fall under these customs codes¹:

• Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes 2008 30 55 and 2008 30 75, the EU’s product codes.
• Part of CN code 2008 30 90, limited to the five TARIC codes below.
• TARIC codes 2008 30 90 61, 2008 30 90 63, 2008 30 90 65, 2008 30 90 67 and 2008 30 90 69. TARIC is the EU’s detailed customs tariff.

Only goods made in China are covered¹. Fresh mandarins are not part of this product. The duty applies to the prepared or preserved fruit.

How much is the duty per tonne?

The duty is a fixed sum of money per tonne, not a percentage of the price. Under the earlier 2020 regulation, the rates ranged from 361.4 to 531.2 euros per tonne of net product weight².

Each named Chinese maker had its own rate under the 2020 regulation²:

• Yichang Rosen Foods Co., Ltd: 531.2 euros per tonne.
• Zhejiang Taizhou Yiguan Food Co. Ltd: 361.4 euros per tonne.
• Hubei Xinshiji Foods Co., Ltd: 489.7 euros per tonne.
• Zhejiang Juzhou Foods Co., Ltd: 499.9 euros per tonne.
• Other cooperating makers listed in that regulation’s annex: 499.6 euros per tonne.
• All other companies: 531.2 euros per tonne.

The highest rate, 531.2 euros per tonne, applied to every Chinese maker without its own rate². The new 2026 regulation imposes the duty again after the review¹.

What paperwork does a lower company rate need?

Under the 2020 regulation, a lower company rate was not automatic². The importer had to show customs a valid commercial invoice with a special signed statement².

The statement had to be dated and signed by an official of the company issuing the invoice. It had to give that person’s name and job². It had to confirm which company made the goods, with its address and TARIC additional code, a short code for each maker².

If the invoice did not carry this statement, customs charged the rate for "all other companies"². That was the top rate of 531.2 euros per tonne².

Why did the European Commission keep the duty?

The review began with a request on July 21, 2025¹. It came from Fenaval, a national federation of processed vegetable and food associations¹. Fenaval spoke for producers making 100% of EU output of these canned citrus fruits¹.

Fenaval argued that ending the duty would likely bring more dumping, meaning sales below normal price¹. It said this would also continue or bring back harm to EU producers¹.

The Commission found enough evidence to open the review on Oct. 21, 2025¹. Its notice of opening was numbered C/2025/5628³.

How large are Chinese canned mandarin imports?

Chinese imports reached 15,188 tonnes in the review period, from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025¹. That figure comes from Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office¹.

China held about 32% to 35% of the EU market in that period¹. The share has fallen over time. It was 71.1% in the original investigation and 43.3% in the first expiry review¹. In the previous expiry review it was 30% to 41%¹.

The Commission said imports from China fell compared with the previous review period, Oct. 2018 to Sept. 2019¹. Even so, China still supplies about one third of the EU market.

Who took part in the review?

The EU has only two known makers of these goods¹. Both are in the Valencia region of Spain¹:

• Agricultura y Conservas S.A., in Algemesí.
• Industrias Videca S.A., in Villanueva de Castellón.

The Commission checked data at both factories¹. Only these two companies answered its questions¹.

Chinese makers did not take part. One Chinese exporter first agreed to join¹. On Nov. 17, 2025, it told the Commission it would not cooperate¹.

No EU importers or users of the fruit answered¹. The Chinese government did not reply to its questionnaire either¹. No party asked for a hearing¹.

How did the Commission judge Chinese prices?

Because no Chinese maker cooperated, the Commission used "facts available"¹. This means it relied on other data, such as Eurostat figures and the request from Fenaval¹.

The Commission found that Chinese prices and costs were distorted by government action¹. It said these costs included raw materials, energy and labour¹. So it did not use Chinese prices to work out a fair price.

The main inputs for canned mandarins are¹:

• fresh mandarins
• steel tin for cans, caps and lids
• labour
• printed labels and cartons
• sugar
• energy

Instead, the Commission used costs from Türkiye as a stand-in country¹. It told interested parties of this choice on Jan. 21, 2026¹. It used data from Frigo-Pak, a producer in Türkiye, for overhead costs and profit¹. No one sent comments on that choice¹.

How long has the EU taxed Chinese canned mandarins?

The duty has a long history. The Council of the EU first imposed it with Regulation (EC) No 1355/2008¹.

The Court of Justice of the EU cancelled those measures on March 22, 2012¹. The EU put them back on Feb. 18, 2013, with Regulation (EU) No 158/2013¹.

The Commission then kept the duty after two earlier expiry reviews¹. It did so with Regulation (EU) No 1313/2014 and Regulation (EU) 2020/1534¹. The 2026 regulation is the third renewal after an expiry review.

What changes for importers and Chinese makers?

For EU importers, the cost of Chinese canned mandarins stays higher than without the duty. Each tonne still carries a fixed extra charge at customs.

For Chinese makers, sales to the EU stay more expensive. Makers without their own rate faced the top rate under the 2020 regulation².

For the two Spanish producers, the duty keeps protection against low-priced Chinese goods. Buyers such as food sellers will keep paying the duty through their import prices.

Key points on the EU duty on Chinese canned mandarins

The table sums up the main facts.

Chinese canned mandarins entering the EU will keep paying a fixed charge per tonne at customs. The 2026 regulation ends the review that the Commission opened on Oct. 21, 2025¹.

Sources

1. ↩ L_202602327EN.000101.fmx.xml https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202602327
2. ↩ Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1534 of 21 October 2020 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain prepared or preserved citrus fruits (namely mandarins, etc.) originating in the People’s Republic of China following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2020/1534/article/1
3. ↩ Trade and Industry Department – European Union (EU)* : Initiation of an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures on imports of certain prepared or preserved citrus fruits originating in Chinese Mainland https://www.tid.gov.hk/en/tradecircular/2025/ci9142025.html?categoryId=20