Starches; inulin (heading 1108): importing markets

Fact sheet

Code

1108

Chapter

11 · Products of the milling industry; malt, starches, inulin, wheat gluten

Subheadings

6

What to know before exporting heading 1108

Heading 1108 is a four-digit code of the Harmonized System, the classification used by customs worldwide. It sits in Chapter 11 and is divided into 6 subheadings. Classifying the goods at the right subheading is the first step, because everything that follows depends on it.

Demand is concentrated. In the 2024 data above, China is the largest importer by a wide margin, followed by the United States and Germany. Among the fifteen main markets there are Asian, North American and European destinations, which gives a company several routes to test.

For a company exporting from Spain, the markets inside the European Union (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Poland) are reached without customs duties, though the usual tax and statistical declarations still apply. For the rest of the markets in the table, such as China, the United States, Malaysia or South Korea, the duty depends on the subheading and on the agreement in force between the EU and the destination.

The applicable duty, the origin rules and the import requirements of each destination are checked in Access2Markets, the European Commission tool for exporters. For the European side of the classification, the reference is TARIC.

Import volume says how large a market is, not how easy it is to enter. Imports declared by a country include everything it buys from the world, so a large importer may be supplied by established local or regional producers. Before choosing a destination, compare its volume with the requirements for access and with the competitive position you can reasonably reach.

Frequently asked questions