Baking Chocolate: export from Canada to Southeast Asia
Baking chocolate and couverture are manufacturing inputs bought on functional performance: cocoa butter content, viscosity when melted, tempering behaviour and snap in the finished product.
Cocoa butter percentage is the parameter that separates couverture from compound coating, and they are not substitutes. Couverture requires tempering and delivers the gloss and snap of real chocolate; compound coatings use alternative fats, skip tempering and behave more forgivingly in warm conditions, which is genuinely useful in tropical manufacturing.
Ask which the destination manufacturer actually needs, because a buyer without tempering capability who receives couverture will produce a poor result and blame the chocolate.
Formats are blocks, callets and drops, with callets the practical choice for most operations. Confirm storage temperature capability at destination, since baking chocolate has the same bloom exposure as finished bars.
Couverture and compound coatings classify differently, since compound uses non-cocoa fats. That distinction moves the duty position as well as the functional behaviour, so confirm the line for the exact product.
Canadian export requirements
- HS classification
- 1806.20: Chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa, in blocks, slabs or bars weighing more than 2 kg or in liquid, paste, powder, granular or other bulk form
- CFIA certificates
- Available on request: send your specification and destination and we'll confirm within five working days.
Six-market position
| Market | MFN duty | Preferential | Registration category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | On request | On request | On request |
| Thailand | On request | On request | On request |
| Philippines | On request | On request | On request |
| Indonesia | On request | On request | On request |
| Malaysia | On request | On request | On request |
| Singapore | On request | On request | On request |
MFN duty is the destination's applied general rate for this tariff line. Preferential is the rate under an agreement in force between Canada and that market.
Both are customs duty only: destination excise, value-added tax and local levies are additional and are not shown here.
Available on request: send your specification and destination and we'll confirm within five working days.
Commercial terms
- Producing provinces
- Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta
- Seasonality
- Year-round production
- Pack formats
- 5 kg boxes, 20 kg boxes, Callet bags
- Container configuration
- On request
- Indicative MOQ
- On request
Common questions
- What is the HS code for baking chocolate?
- 1806.20: Chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa, in blocks, slabs or bars weighing more than 2 kg or in liquid, paste, powder, granular or other bulk form. This was read from Canada Border Services Agency on 2026-09-18. The first six digits are the same in every country that uses the Harmonised System; digits beyond that are set by the destination.
Sources
- Customs Tariff (T2026), Chapter 18 · Canada Border Services Agency, retrieved September 18, 2026
Last reviewed: September 1, 2026