Wed, 27 Aug 2025

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 Value of small parcels from China to UK doubles to £3bn as Shein sales soar

Parcels from China that are exempt from UK import tax more than doubled in value to £3bn last year.
Chinese e-commerce giants Shein and Temu are thought to be driving this increase in sales of cheap goods to online shoppers in the UK. UK business owners and industry groups want swifter action to protect High Street retailers from being undercut by these imports. Low-value imports sent from China to the UK totalled around £3bn in 2024-25, making up 51% of all small parcels shipped to the UK from around the world last year. The value of these deliveries from China was well over twice the £1.3bn recorded during the previous financial year. Katerina Buchy, director of Sheffield-based giftware wholesaler Ancient Wisdom, said her company's business is being hit by low-value imports because it can't compete with prices on sites like Shein and Temu. The UK government is reviewing the rules that mean imports of small packages worth £135 or less currently avoid customs duties. Temu and Shein have become popular among UK consumers in recent years for selling affordable items including clothes, homeware, electronics and toys. Natalie Berg, retail analyst at NBK Retail, said it was no surprise that the increase in the value of small parcels from China had coincided with the expansion of companies like Shein and Temu. The removal of the tax exemption could disproportionately hit lower-income consumers and small firms who use it to import goods. A Treasury spokesperson said Chancellor Rachel Reeves' review of the customs treatment of low-value imports was ongoing and would be published "in due course".
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