SunSirs: China's Ministry of Commerce Announces First Allocation of Agricultural Product Export Quotas for 2026

In December 2025, the Ministry of Commerce released the First Allocation Plan for Export Quotas of Certain Agricultural Products in 2026 along with relevant notices, clarifying core details such as quota allocation rules and management requirements. Key points are summarized below:

Core Quota Totals

The agricultural products subject to quota management and their corresponding total volumes have been announced in advance. Specific allocations include: 1,028,900 kilograms of cultivated ephedra for medicinal use, 1,605,400 live pigs for Hong Kong and Macao, 22,000 live cattle for Hong Kong and Macao, 3 million live chickens for Hong Kong, 150,000 cubic meters of sawn timber, and 16 million kilograms of rush grass and rush grass products.

Special Allocation Method

Export quotas for licorice and licorice products, as well as rush grass and rush grass products, will be allocated through bidding. Specific application requirements and procedures will be announced separately. For other categories such as live livestock and poultry for Hong Kong and Macao, sawn timber, etc., the Ministry of Commerce will conduct the first allocation, followed by secondary allocation by local commerce authorities.

Allocation and Management Requirements

Secondary allocation should prioritize enterprises with high quota fulfillment rates, strong operational capabilities, superior product quality, and reputable brands. Local authorities must reasonably control the pace of issuance, dynamically adjust quotas to enhance utilization rates, and submit secondary allocation plans to the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce for record-keeping, with copies sent to relevant institutions.

Export quotas for wheat flour destined for Hong Kong and Macao are strictly limited to exports to those markets and prohibit transshipment. Licensing authorities must include a restriction against transshipment in the remarks section of export licenses. Commerce authorities in Guangdong and Shenzhen must monitor and report on the implementation of these quotas.

Enterprises' safety production records will be reviewed during quota allocation. Those with serious injury or fatality incidents in the past three years are ineligible for quotas.

Follow-up Arrangements

Based on actual quota fulfillment and applications from local governments and central enterprises, the Ministry of Commerce will conduct a second round of agricultural product export quota allocation by the end of June 2026.

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