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Exporting groundnut (HS 1202) — aflatoxin and the EU health certificate

Last reviewed 2026-10 · 4 sections

Groundnut is a commodity where one contaminant decides the outcome: aflatoxin. The tariff is a minor variable next to whether the consignment is tested and cleared.

Classification: seed, in shell and shelled

  • 1202 30 covers groundnuts for sowing (seed); 1202 41 covers groundnuts in shell, and 1202 42 shelled, other than seed.
  • Roasted, prepared or preserved peanuts leave chapter 12 for chapter 20 — as does peanut butter. Crude peanut oil goes to chapter 15.
  • The in-shell versus shelled distinction carries different duty treatment in many schedules, and different contamination risk: shelling removes part of the exposure but not the problem.

Aflatoxin: where the problem actually starts

Aflatoxin is produced by mould in the field and in storage, typically where drying is slow or storage moisture is high. It is not removed by sorting alone, and it cannot be detected without laboratory testing.

The control point is post-harvest management — timely drying, moisture control in storage, and lot segregation — with sampling and testing as the verification. A cleaning or sorting line cannot fix material that was already contaminated before it arrived, which is why rejects tend to arrive in batches rather than evenly.

Why the EU in particular

  • The EU sets strict aflatoxin limits for groundnuts intended for human consumption and requires a health certificate attesting to sampling, analysis and the result, with a defined sampling method.
  • Groundnuts from India have been subject to a high frequency of border checks, driven by the pattern of past notifications. That means a higher sampling rate at the port, not merely a different limit.
  • China and other buyers also specify aflatoxin limits, often contractually. The buyer's specification and the legal limit are separate requirements — meet both.

Documents and market reading

  • Commercial invoice, packing list, transport document, certificate of origin, phytosanitary certificate, health certificate for the EU with the sampling and analysis result, laboratory reports.
  • Volume and yield matter more than price in this trade: oil content and kernel recovery are the parameters buyers negotiate on, so unit value alone tells you very little about a consignment.

Use the tools

Sources & further reading

APEDA EU RASFF — food safety alerts Codex Alimentarius

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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