# Importing into the UK



## adrian1979 (May 4, 2016)

Hi,

I'm from England but currently visiting coffee farms in South Africa and Zimbabwe, great fun! How would I go about importing the beans into the UK?

Thanks

Adrian


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Hire a van and somebody to drive it to the port, hire some space on a cargo boat, hire another van on the other end to receive it.

On a small scale importing low quality commodity coffee I highly doubt it is worth it, do you have a buyer lined up?


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

Importing foodstuff requires a licence and a phytosanitary certificate.

https://www.gov.uk/food-safety-as-a-food-distributor/importing-and-exporting-food

Be aware that EU directives require commodity products imported into the EU to be subject to the same regulations as those grown within. Therefore, if plant protection products are used then they must be those listed on Annex 1 and must not exceed the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL). If not listed then the beans would be rejected at levels of detection. Any rejection and disposal is likely to be at the cost of the importer.

If you are just talking about bring a few kg home then that is up to you. Customs regulations require that all plant products are declared and they are likely to be confiscated without a phytosan certificate. Some people just stick them in their luggage but in doing so they are just aiding in the global epidemiology of pests and disease that keeps me in a job. It is also worth noting that coffee is often used to mask the smell of some drugs and as a result the sniffer dogs are trained to react to it.


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

NickdeBug said:


> coffee is often used to mask the smell of some drugs and as a result the sniffer dogs are trained to react to it.


Given my general levels of exposure to coffee this makes me nervous


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

jlarkin said:


> Given my general levels of exposure to coffee this makes me nervous


Just think of it as a free rub down service to round off your holiday nicely.


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

It's more impressive than that.

where as we can look at a stew and see all the different ingredients ... We can only smell the "stew" ... A dog can separate the smells and smell the individual ingredients

so so if you wrap your cocain in latex, smother in conditioner put in a coffee can and wrap on foil ... The dog can smell ... Latex, conditioner, coffee, foil and cocain .... So if you go through customs having had an espresso at Costa, you need not worry unless you have a crack baggy up your bum hole


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

I met a guy at a conference who was working for a company that trained "sniffer bees". Apparently they could be trained in about a minute, compared to a dog that took a couple of years.

They put about 25 of these bees in a weird gun contraption and linked sensors to their antennae. If a sufficient number of them registered an electrical impulse in response to a chemical signal (such as a waft of Colombian finest) then the alarm was triggered.

Genius!

Company went out of business if I recall.


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

I think that the Bee Civil Rights movement might have had something to do with the company's demise

View attachment 20904


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

NickdeBug said:
 

> It is also worth noting that coffee is often used to mask the smell of some drugs and as a result the sniffer dogs are trained to react to it.


Well yes...but it does have to be roasted coffee rather than green coffee which doesn't smell of much.


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

DavecUK said:


> Well yes...but it does have to be roasted coffee rather than green coffee which doesn't smell of much.


maybe the dogs/bees prefer very light roasts


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## adrian1979 (May 4, 2016)

Hi,

Thanks for this!

So basically I need to get an import license and a phytosanitary certificate as well as a list of all plant protection products, would that cover me then?



NickdeBug said:


> Importing foodstuff requires a licence and a phytosanitary certificate.
> 
> https://www.gov.uk/food-safety-as-a-food-distributor/importing-and-exporting-food
> 
> ...


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## Yes Row (Jan 23, 2013)

Maybe you should seek proper advice,

dEFRA possibly?


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