Raw cocoa beans enter the UK duty-free anyway. But process them into butter, paste, or chocolate and you unlock 7-8% savings. Here's the origin roadmap.
The UK wants processed goods, not raw materials. DCTS is designed to reward value addition — and cocoa is the perfect example.
The tariff ladder
• Cocoa beans (HS 1801): MFN 0%, DCTS 0% — no advantage for raw beans
• Cocoa paste (HS 1803): MFN 9.6%, DCTS 0% — save £9,600 per £100k
• Cocoa butter (HS 1804): MFN 7.7%, DCTS 0% — save £7,700 per £100k
• Chocolate (HS 1806): MFN 8.3%, DCTS 0% — save £8,300 per £100k
The value multiplier: processing cocoa beans into butter increases the export value by 3-5x. Combined with the tariff advantage, African processors earn significantly more than raw bean exporters.
Origin rules for cocoa products
• Cocoa paste: CTH — change from beans (1801) to paste (1803). Processing in-country qualifies.
• Cocoa butter: CTH — pressing/extraction from beans. Straightforward.
• Chocolate: CTH + 50% VA — the hardest rule. If you import sugar from outside Africa, it counts against your VA%. Solution: source sugar from Mozambique, Malawi, or Tanzania (cumulation countries).
Key exporting countries: Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, Tanzania.
The message is clear: Africa should be exporting chocolate, not just beans. DCTS makes this economically viable. The RoO Calculator walks through each cocoa product's origin test step by step.