HS Code 4703Chemical wood pulp, soda or sulphate, other than dissolving grades

What HS code 4703 covers

The process breaks wood into fibres and removes most of the glue that holds them together. The result is a strong pulp used to make paper and paperboard.

Two limits define the heading. The pulp must be made by the soda or sulphate method. It must also be a grade other than dissolving grades. If both are true, you are in the right place for customs tariff classification.

The heading sits in Chapter 47, the part of the tariff for wood pulp and other fibre pulp. Sulphate wood pulp is the form most people search for, and it falls here when it is not a dissolving grade.

HS code 4703 subheadings: bleached or unbleached, coniferous or non-coniferous

Only two questions decide the subcode. Second, does it come from coniferous or non-coniferous wood? Coniferous wood is softwood, such as pine or spruce. Non-coniferous wood is hardwood, such as birch or eucalyptus.

Put the two answers together and you get one of the four codes:

• 470311: unbleached, coniferous wood. Use this for HTS 470311 style searches on raw softwood pulp.
• 470319: unbleached, non-coniferous wood.

Difference between HS 4703 and 4702, 4704 and 4705

Most mistakes come from picking a neighbouring pulp heading. Check the pulping method and the grade before you choose.

If the pulp is meant for dissolving, it does not belong in 4703, which excludes those grades by name. See HS 4702 dissolving grade wood pulp for its code.

The key word is sulphite. The 4703 heading is for soda or sulphate. Read HS 4704 sulphite wood pulp if your pulp used that process.

Heading 4701 is mechanical wood pulp, made by grinding rather than by chemicals. Heading 4705 is pulp made by a mix of mechanical and chemical steps. Neither one is a pure chemical pulp of the 4703 type. You can read more on HS 4701 mechanical wood pulp and HS 4705 mechanical and chemical pulp.

Not sure which one fits? Try the HS code classifier, and always confirm with your customs broker. Duty rates vary by country, so check the rate for your own market.

HS 4703 import and export data: find buyers and suppliers of chemical wood pulp

A code on its own does not tell you who trades the goods. Customs records do. Here is what EximDataX offers for this heading.

EximDataX shows shipment-level import and export records from official customs sources. Coverage: 43 direct customs feeds plus 184 mirror-derived countries. Named buyers and named suppliers are available in 38 of the 43 direct markets. Most markets refresh weekly and some refresh daily.

You can search by HS code to see who imports and exports a product, and book a free demo. Start with import data or export data, then move to buyer data and supplier data for chemical wood pulp.

Other headings in Chapter 47

Each heading in the chapter has its own page with its own codes. Use them to compare pulp types side by side.

Go back to the full Chapter 47 wood pulp HS codes list, or look at HS 4706 recovered paper pulp and HS 4707 waste and scrap paper. You can also browse all HS code chapters.