🍯 HS Codes and Tariffs for Bee Product Exports

About this simulation

Every product crossing an international border is assigned a Harmonized System (HS) code — a hierarchical number built from a 2-digit chapter, a 4-digit heading, a 6-digit subheading (internationally standardised) and extra national digits that each customs authority adds on top. Honey, beeswax, propolis and royal jelly do not all land in the same chapter, and even small changes to a product — like blending honey with other sugars, or putting royal jelly into capsules — can shift it into a completely different heading with a very different duty rate.

How it works

• A shipment crate travels along the conveyor toward the customs classification gate.
• Above the belt, four glowing plaques resolve the shipment's chapter → heading → subheading → national code, live, based on the product and processing state you choose.
• At the gate, a duty-rate display and a small bar chart compare illustrative tariff rates across four destination markets.
• The estimated duty owed combines the shown rate with an illustrative per-kilogram value and your chosen shipment weight.

Controls

• Product — natural honey, beeswax, propolis or royal jelly.
• Blended / further processed — toggles between the raw, natural-state product and a processed form (e.g. honey blended with sugar, or royal jelly in capsules), which can move the HS classification into a different chapter entirely.
• Destination market — highlights that market's bar in the comparison chart and drives the estimated duty cost.
• Shipment weight — scales the estimated duty owed. Drag to rotate the scene, scroll to zoom.

Did you know?

Raw beeswax and unprocessed propolis are duty-free in many tariff schedules because they sit in chapters reserved for basic natural products — but the moment they're refined, bleached, or reformulated into a "preparation," they can be reclassified into a chapter with import duties, which is exactly why exporters spend so much effort getting HS classification right before goods ever reach the port.

Note: the duty figures in this simulation are simplified, illustrative approximations used to demonstrate how classification logic works. They are not customs advice — always confirm current rates against an official tariff schedule (e.g. the EU's TARIC, the UK Global Tariff, the US HTS, or Japan Customs) or a licensed customs broker.