China’s maturing manufacturers produce high-quality ceramic tiles

Importing tiles from China: A Complete Guide

It is a common complaint that it is very difficult to choose good tile suppliers in China, because the choice, at more than 3,000 companies, is so extensive.

Many importers also find it a headache to select the correct tile designs and also exercise effective control over quality.  A large number of Chinese tile manufacturers are able to produce more than 25,000 sq. metres of tiles per day.  This means that they are ready to export almost any volume of tiles required at any time.

Many tile manufacturing nations around the world have been affected by the rapid growth of the Chinese tile industry.  Many of these countries have higher production costs, making China a cost-effective choice.  Many countries in the world, unlike the EU, do not have an anti-dumping duty on Chinese tiles. Moreover, tile exporters can get 9% taxation refund from the Chinese government. 

Most cities and provinces in China specialise in the manufacture of specific products.  Most suppliers of a certain product are grouped together in one area.  This concept makes it easy for importers to source products from China.  If you are sourcing tile from China, here are the main places to investigate.

Foshan, Guangdong province: Foshan is a hub for ceramic tiles.  About 350 ceramic tile producers, with an annual production of about 1.2 billion sq. metres of ceramic tiles, are based in Foshan.  In the past 10 years Foshan has produced 54% of China’s total ceramic tile output, and 25% of the world’s total production of ceramic tiles.

Foshan’s ceramic tile manufacturers continuously work on improving the designs of their ceramic tiles. They thrive to match the quality of ceramic tiles produced in Spain and Italy in order to grow their exports to major Western markets grow.  Today, eight out of the ten China Famous Brands named by the government are based in Foshan, Guangdong Province.

Zibo, Shandong province:  This is where low value and glazed polished tile are mainly produced.  The cost advantage of the province has been attracting foreign buyers.  Shandong tile exports have reached record highs, so that it now ranks as the third province in China in terms of tile exports.

Comparing with Foshan, Shandong’s tiles are not so high quality but have a lower price.  The main reason is raw materials.  Geography determines that the soil in Shandong is worse than that in Foshan.  Moreover,most Foshan factories use ink imported from Spain or Italy, whereas Shandong factories use local ink in order to save cost.  Advanced production technologies also mean that Foshan’s tile quality is better.

Fujian province.  This is where low-value wall tiles are mainly produced.  Most of the exterior tiles exported by China are produced by small family-owned workshops in this province.  Each workshop would only have about 5 to 10 workers,  that they can offer lower prices.

If you want to import tiles from China, the internet is your easiest option to find suppliers.  Suppliers may be classified either as factories or traders.  Of course, it would be cheaper to source tiles directly from factories, but it can be difficult to discern whether a supplier is a factory or a trader.

On the internet, you will find B2B market places for tiles from China; the most reliable of which is alibaba.com.  Searching through these platforms will provide a wide choice of suppliers.

When sourcing tiles from China, you could either do the entire process yourself or work with a sourcing agent.  A sourcing agent could be an individual or a firm based in China who could do the legwork for you. Sourcing agents can help you source suppliers, negotiate prices, place orders and monitor deliveries.