Every netting buyer meets the MOQ question in the first email exchange: why two tons, what does two tons actually look like in square metres, and what are your options if your project is smaller than that. The short answer: MOQ is a production-line reality, not a sales policy — and two tons buys very different amounts of fabric depending on what GSM you run. A 2-ton order of 20 gsm bird netting is roughly 100,000 m²; the same 2 tons of 180 gsm privacy screen is about 11,000 m². This guide explains where the number comes from, gives the full m² conversion across our product lines, and lays out the honest paths for buyers whose first order is smaller than a container.
Short answer: because every product change on a knitting line costs material and time before a single sellable metre comes off the machine. Here is what a changeover actually looks like from the factory floor. To switch a line from, say, 100 gsm green shade net to 20 gsm clear bird net, the crew changes the yarn creel, re-threads the machine, adjusts the knit pattern and tension, and then runs waste — metres of off-spec fabric — until the output stabilizes at the new spec. That waste, plus the setup hours, is the fixed cost of any production run, and it is the same whether the run is 200 kg or 2 tons. Spread across 200 kg it adds a painful amount to every kilogram; spread across 2 tons it nearly disappears into the per-kg cost. The MOQ is simply the run length where the setup cost stops distorting your price. It is also where resin batch consistency becomes meaningful: a 2-ton run draws from a consistent resin and UV-masterbatch mix, which is part of why batch QC records mean something — our factory QC guide covers how batches are tracked.
This is the table buyers actually need. Square metres per ton is pure arithmetic — 1,000,000 divided by the GSM — and the table below applies it across our eleven product lines at their standard grades. The 2-ton MOQ column is what your minimum order covers; the 40’HQ column uses the mid-point 14.5-ton load:
| Product | Typical GSM | m² per ton | 2-ton MOQ covers | Per 40’HQ (14.5 t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bird net | 20 | 50,000 | ≈ 100,000 m² | ≈ 725,000 m² |
| Shade net | 100 | 10,000 | ≈ 20,000 m² | ≈ 145,000 m² |
| Hail net | 50 | 20,000 | ≈ 40,000 m² | ≈ 290,000 m² |
| Insect net | 50 | 20,000 | ≈ 40,000 m² | ≈ 290,000 m² |
| Olive harvest net | 90 | 11,111 | ≈ 22,200 m² | ≈ 161,000 m² |
| Scaffold / debris net | 100 | 10,000 | ≈ 20,000 m² | ≈ 145,000 m² |
| Privacy screen | 180 | 5,556 | ≈ 11,100 m² | ≈ 80,600 m² |
| Windbreak net | 100 | 10,000 | ≈ 20,000 m² | ≈ 145,000 m² |
| Barrier / warning net | 80 | 12,500 | MOQ 5 t ≈ 62,500 m² | ≈ 181,000 m² |
| Aluminum shade net | 100 | 10,000 | ≈ 20,000 m² | ≈ 145,000 m² |
Two things to notice. First, the same weight buys four to five times more area at the light end than at the heavy end — which is why a bird-net distributor and a privacy-screen distributor experience the same MOQ completely differently. Second, these are net-fabric figures; packaging, edge reinforcement and eyelet bands add a little weight that is part of the product, not padding. For how these square metres physically pack into cartons, rolls and pallets, the container loading and packing guide has the full breakdown.
The 2-ton MOQ is a total, not a per-product minimum — and that distinction is where most smart first orders are designed. A distributor building a yard stock does not need 2 tons of one fabric; they need a spread. A typical mixed first order looks like 800 kg of the main line (say 100 gsm green shade net in the two bestselling widths), 700 kg of the second line (bird net in two mesh sizes), and 500 kg split across samples of heavier grades for the showroom. All of it runs on the same MOQ total, all of it ships together, and the buyer ends up with a sellable range instead of a single-product bet. Colors and roll sizes mix the same way. The only real constraint is production logic: closely related specs share changeovers efficiently, so a mixed order of three GSM grades in one product family schedules faster than five unrelated products — and if your timeline is tight, that scheduling difference is worth asking about when you send the RFQ. The standard warning net is the one exception on MOQ: its production economics set the minimum at 5 tons, which is why warning-net buyers are usually established distributors or contractors buying against a season’s demand.
Three honest paths, in order of how often they work. First, the sample route: standard sample sets are free — you cover the courier — and they exist precisely so a smaller buyer can verify fabric, GSM and color before figuring out the quantity side. Second, the trial conversation: for new customers we can discuss trial orders below the standard MOQ, because a first order that proves the market is worth more to us than a rigid line on a quote sheet — the earlier you raise it in the conversation, the more room there is. Third, the distributor route: if your need is genuinely small — a few thousand square metres for one greenhouse or one orchard block — buying from a regional distributor who stocks our fabric is often faster and cheaper than a direct import, and we will tell you so rather than quote you a bad deal. That is also what the MOQ is quietly doing for the market: it keeps the factory wholesale, and it keeps distributors stocked, so small buyers have somewhere sensible to buy. If you are planning a first import, the first order walkthrough covers the full sequence from RFQ to delivery.
One last piece of buyer arithmetic. Netting is priced per ton at the factory level and sold per square metre (or per roll, or per panel) at the retail end — and the MOQ sits at the boundary between those two worlds. When you compare supplier quotes, compare them per ton at a stated GSM, then convert to your m² cost with the table above: a quote that looks 8% cheaper per ton but runs 10% lighter on GSM is not cheaper at all — it is just less fabric, which is exactly why the GSM verification step matters when the container arrives. And when you are close to a container load, the last ton is usually the cheapest square metres you will ever buy from us: the ocean freight on a 40’HQ is the same whether it carries 12 tons or 14.5, so filling the cube lowers your landed cost per m² more than any discount negotiation will.
Because a production changeover costs the same waste and setup time whether the run is 500 kg or 2 tons. Spread over 500 kg that fixed cost inflates every kilogram you buy; at 2 tons it nearly disappears into the per-kg price. The MOQ is the run length where setup cost stops distorting your quote.
It depends entirely on GSM. The formula: square metres = 2,000,000 ÷ GSM. So 2 tons of 20 gsm bird net is about 100,000 m², 2 tons of 100 gsm shade net is about 20,000 m², and 2 tons of 180 gsm privacy screen is about 11,000 m². Same weight, very different area.
Yes — the MOQ is a total across the order, not per product. Most distributors mix GSM grades, mesh sizes, widths and colors, and many mix product families (shade plus bird plus windbreak) in a single order and a single container. Mixed orders are the standard way to build a sellable stock.
No. The standard MOQ is 2 tons across the range; the exception is barrier / warning net, which runs at 5 tons because of its production economics. Everything else — bird, shade, hail, insect, olive, scaffold, privacy, windbreak, aluminum shade — follows the 2-ton rule.
Samples are free with courier on the buyer, and trial orders below the standard MOQ are negotiable for new customers — raise it early in the conversation. If your total need is only a few thousand square metres, buying from a regional distributor who stocks our fabric is often the better route, and we will say so honestly.
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