Canton Fair Phase 3 minimum orders: What 3,630 exhibitors ask you to buy

The typical Phase 3 exhibitor at the Canton Fair lists a minimum order of 1,000 pieces, the highest of the fair’s three weeks, but at its lowest listed price that first order comes to about $2,800, according to a Standard Trade analysis of the fair’s product listings.¹ Phase 3 runs from Oct 31 to Nov 4, 2026, and covers clothing, shoes, bags, toys, home textiles and food.² Only 3,630 of its 11,062 exhibitors publish a minimum at all, so for most booths you have to ask.

To see the minimums for your own product, booth by booth, search Trade Evidence. Your first search is free, with no sign-up. Here is an example for canvas tote bags.

How high are Phase 3 minimums?

They are the highest at the fair. For each exhibitor we took the middle value of the minimums on its own listings, so one company with hundreds of products counts once. The median exhibitor in Phase 3 lists 1,000 pieces, against 600 in Phase 2 and 100 in Phase 1.¹ Phase 1 runs low partly because machinery sellers list a minimum of one machine.

The more useful number for a small buyer is how many exhibitors sit at 300 pieces or fewer (Exhibit 1). In Phase 3 it is 29%, against 36% in Phase 2 and 61% in Phase 1.¹ Clothing, bags and toys are made in runs that share one fabric or one mould, so a factory sets its minimum around what one run of material costs it.

• Phase 1 (Oct 15 to 19)61%
• Phase 2 (Oct 23 to 27)36%
• Phase 3 (Oct 31 to Nov 4)29%

Share of exhibitors listing a minimum in pieces, sets or pairs, by the median of each exhibitor’s listings. Source: Standard Trade analysis of Canton Fair product listings, Oct 2026.

What does a first order at the minimum cost?

Less than the piece counts suggest. We multiplied each listing’s minimum by the bottom of its price range, for the 1,360 Phase 3 exhibitors that price in US dollars, and took each exhibitor’s middle value. The median is about $2,800. 41% of these exhibitors would take a first order of $2,000 or less, and 70% one of $5,000 or less.¹

The bottom of a price range is usually the price for a larger order, so treat these figures as a floor. Freight, samples, testing and duty come on top, and a first order at the minimum often pays a higher unit price than the listing shows.

Source: Standard Trade analysis of Canton Fair product listings. Minimums are in pieces, sets or pairs, as the median of each exhibitor’s listings. Factories are exhibitors that call themselves manufacturers or “industry and trade”; traders call themselves foreign trade companies. The last column is the minimum times the bottom of the listed US dollar price, for exhibitors that price in dollars.¹

Office supplies show why the piece count misleads. The median stationery exhibitor wants 3,000 pieces, yet the first order is the second cheapest in the table, because a pen or a notebook costs well under a dollar.

Are traders better for small orders?

Mostly not, which runs against the usual advice that traders are more flexible because they don’t carry a factory’s fixed costs.³ Across Phase 3, the 2,153 exhibitors that call themselves factories list a median minimum of 800 pieces, and the 1,447 self-described traders list 1,000. 21% of the factories list 100 pieces or fewer, against 16% of the traders.¹ In bags, toys, health products and baby goods, the factories’ median is lower by a quarter or more (Exhibit 2).

The pattern reverses in a few areas. In food, household items, personal care and underwear, traders list the lower minimums, which fits a trader that buys from several plants and can split stock that a single plant would not.¹

These are each company’s own labels, and our whole-fair guide explains why some traders tick “manufacturer.” The low number is also not the whole story. A factory owner we interviewed this month told us small first orders from new brands rarely pay for her line, and her best clients came to her with volume. A booth that lists 50 pieces may be selling stock rather than making to order.

How do I order less than the minimum?

Find out what sets the number, then work on that input. Three moves come up again and again with Chinese suppliers:

1. Use what the factory already stocks. A stock fabric avoids the mill’s dye-lot minimum and usually allows much lower minimums, and private label basics on stock fabric run about 100 to 500 units a style.⁴ Goods already in stock have no real minimum at all.³
2. Ask for 70 to 80% of the minimum. A supplier that lists 1,000 pieces will often take 700 or 800, while an order of 10 to 20% of the minimum is hard to place unless the item is in stock or costs a lot.³
3. Keep the first version simple. Embroidering a pattern on T-shirts is usually fine at 100 to 200 pieces, while seamless underwear needs thousands because the line is set up for long runs.³ That matches the 2,000-piece median among underwear factories in Exhibit 2.

Ask for the minimum per style and per color separately, because each is a different constraint, and expect a smaller first order to carry a higher unit price.⁴

How do I find the booths with low minimums before I fly?

Search the listings instead of walking the halls. Trade Evidence searches all 36,524 Canton Fair exhibitors and their 200,204 product listings, and each answer shows the minimum, the listed price and the booth, linked to the exhibitor’s profile. It also flags exhibitors whose profile looks like a trader’s. Try a question such as Phase 3 toy factories with a minimum of 300 pieces or fewer or home textile factories in Zhejiang that list a price.

The data has limits. Two in three Phase 3 exhibitors publish no minimum, and the listings are what each company says about itself, so confirm the number at the booth and in your contract.

Tell us what you need checked: info@standardtrade.ai.

Common questions

1. What is a normal MOQ at the Canton Fair?

   In Phase 3 the median exhibitor lists 1,000 pieces, in Phase 2 600 and in Phase 1 100.¹ It varies by product, from 500 in clothing to 5,000 in personal care, so compare your product’s area (Exhibit 2).

2. Do Canton Fair exhibitors accept small orders?

   Some do. 29% of the Phase 3 exhibitors that list a minimum ask for 300 pieces or fewer, and 41% of those that price in dollars would take a first order of $2,000 or less.¹ Most exhibitors don’t list a minimum, so ask at the booth.

3. Are trading companies better for small orders?

   Not in most of Phase 3. Self-described factories list a median minimum of 800 pieces against 1,000 for traders.¹ Traders list lower minimums in food, household items, personal care and underwear.

4. Is the minimum on a Canton Fair listing negotiable?

   Usually, within limits. A supplier listing 1,000 pieces will often accept 700 or 800, and goes lower for stock materials or a simple product.³ Confirm the agreed quantity and unit price in the contract.