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Exporting fresh fruit (HS 08) — quarantine treatments and residues
Fresh fruit is a perishable with a hard border. The tariff is irrelevant compared with two questions: what treatment does the destination require for the pest risk, and does the consignment meet its residue limits.
Classification and the treatment that decides the market
Fresh grapes sit in 0806 (fresh or dried grapes), and mangoes in 0804 alongside dates, figs, pineapples, avocados and guavas. Dried forms are separate lines — raisins are not grapes for tariff purposes.
- Pest risk drives market access. Fruit fly and similar quarantine pests mean the destination decides on a phytosanitary protocol: approved treatments may include irradiation, vapour heat treatment, or cold treatment in transit, and some markets require an approved packhouse and a pre-agreed work plan.
- For Indian produce, irradiation has been the route into some markets and vapour heat treatment into others. The specific route is set by the destination's plant-health authority and cannot be improvised at the packing house.
- Cold treatment requires the right container and a temperature record that survives scrutiny — a data gap can invalidate the treatment.
Residues, and who is testing
- Destination maximum residue limits apply per active substance, and fruit is a high-frequency test category at the border.
- Consignments are sampled on arrival; a positive finding can mean destruction, re-export or market-wide attention on the origin.
- The control point is the grower's spray programme — including the pre-harvest interval — not the packing line. Laboratory testing before shipment is the check, not the fix.
Commercial reality: buyer schemes and cold chain
- Retail buyers commonly require a good agricultural practice certification in addition to legal compliance — that is a commercial requirement and does not substitute for the phytosanitary or residue rules.
- Shelf life is short, so the whole chain from harvest to packing to reefer is a single quality system. Marketing time lost at any point is a loss that cannot be recovered.
- Grading, pack size and packaging are contractual and vary by destination retail format.
Documents
- Commercial invoice, packing list, transport document, certificate of origin.
- Phytosanitary certificate issued in India, plus evidence of the agreed treatment (irradiation or heat-treatment certificate, or a cold-treatment temperature log).
- Residue test reports, and any buyer scheme certificate.
Use the tools
- HSN 0806 — grapes
- HSN 0804 — mangoes, guavas and similar fruit
- Market research — fresh fruit import markets
- Exporting to the USA — APHIS and FDA
Sources & further reading
APEDA — agricultural export authority USDA APHIS — plant health EU DG SANTE — plant health & imports
These guides summarise public material from the bodies named above. They are general information, not advice on a specific shipment, and they are not a substitute for a ruling from your customs authority or a qualified customs broker / consultant.
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- Exporting to Germany — packaging law (LUCID), VAT and EU rules
- Exporting to Canada — bilingual labelling, CFIA and CBSA
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- Exporting to Nigeria — SONCAP, NAFDAC and Form M
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- Exporting to the Philippines — AIFTA, FDA registration and ICC clearance
- Exporting to Sri Lanka — the ISFTA preference and its value-addition rule
- Exporting to Egypt — GOEIC factory registration and Arabic labelling
- Exporting to Chile — the PTA, SEC certification and warning labels
- Exporting to Tanzania — EAC duty, TBS conformity and TFDA
- Exporting to Mexico — NOM standards, the importers' registry and warning labels
- Exporting to Israel — the standard mark, Hebrew labelling and kosher
- Exporting to Bangladesh — SAFTA, BSTI and the letter-of-credit requirement
- Exporting to South Korea — CEPA, MFDS facility registration and the KC mark
- Exporting to Kuwait — KUCAS conformity and PAFN food rules
- Exporting to Thailand — AIFTA, TISI standards and Thai FDA registration
- Exporting to Switzerland — not the EU: customs, VAT and the EFTA agreement
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- Exporting to Oman — conformity, food controls and logistics
- Exporting to Qatar — conformity, food controls and a high-income market
- Exporting to New Zealand — biosecurity, shared food standards and no agreement
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- Exporting to Kazakhstan — the EAEU customs union and EAC certification
- Exporting to Cambodia — AIFTA, import licensing and CamControl
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