Wholesale kitchen cabinets from China: a trade guide for builders, developers and retailers

Wholesale cabinets from China come mainly from panel-furniture factories that also make wardrobes, doors and wall panels; they price custom work by projected area or linear metre and standard ranges by the box. For a builder or retailer the work is to fix one specification, test it with a sample, check real capacity and, for the US, clear anti-dumping and countervailing duty questions with a broker first.

Who makes wholesale cabinets in China?

Mostly panel-furniture factories that cut, edge-band and drill board to order, plus export specialists that build standard ranges by the box. Factories advertising on Xiaohongshu describe one line producing wardrobes, kitchens, entry units, TV walls, bed platforms, wall panels and interior doors. That breadth suits a developer, but the “factory” you talk to may be a showroom that subcontracts. Almost every post in this research calls itself a “source factory”; our note on what the source-factory label really means explains how to test it.

For the consumer side of the same market — package prices, extras and what homeowners get wrong — start with our complete guide to kitchen cabinets from China.

How do Chinese cabinet factories price wholesale orders?

By projected area for custom wardrobes and panel work, by linear metre for kitchens and worktops, and by the box for standard export ranges — so ask every factory to quote the same way. A Hebei factory’s price card, aimed at local homeowners, lists its whole-house cabinetry at RMB 550–599 per square metre of projected (elevation) area for most board brands and RMB 799 for the most expensive one. A Foshan worktop maker advertises RMB 650 per metre ex-factory. Neither is an export price, but both show the unit you will be quoted in.

The comparison only works against one written specification. Our explainer on comparing quotes against one spec shows the format; the cabinet board guide explains why two identical-looking quotes can hide different boards.

What should a builder check before choosing a cabinet factory?

Check capacity, the board supply chain and the edge-banding line in person or on live video, and order a sample carcass and door before committing a project. The Hebei factory’s post lists typical claims: a 30,000 m² plant, 20+ years in custom work, RMB 5 million of laser edge-banding equipment, named boards at ENF or F4-star grades, European hinge brands on request, a 15–45 day cycle and a ten-year warranty. Each is checkable, and each belongs in the purchase order.

The Foshan worktop maker’s advice to remote buyers suits any cabinet line: get the national-standard test report, buy a sample (credited against the order), and refuse suppliers who will not show the workshop on live video. We add three checks: line capacity against your volumes, export experience, and who packs. See how to verify a Chinese furniture factory and what furniture MOQs really are.

What does the comment section add?

Most comments are price requests; a few show how remote buying works.

• Price depends on the board. When commenters ask for a price, the factory’s first reply is to ask which board they want — the board is the price.
• Seamless joins. A buyer asks whether a stainless worktop with a random-brushed finish can be welded without a visible seam; the maker says it can be welded and ground as one piece.
• Samples by post. Several buyers ask for samples to be mailed before ordering, and the worktop maker agrees — a routine worth copying for any finish.

How do you standardise a cabinet range for repeat orders?

Freeze sizes, materials and hardware in a spec sheet, and treat any change as a new sample. Chinese factories default to Chinese sizes. Give them your own size grid, the board and emissions grade for carcass, door and back separately, the edge banding (Chinese buyers now ask for PUR or laser, not EVA), the hinge and runner model, and the carton and label format.

For US projects, composite-wood panels need CARB Phase 2 / TSCA Title VI compliance documents, which is separate from the Chinese ENF or E0 grade — our formaldehyde guide covers the difference. A common wholesale risk is not outright fraud but drift: a board brand substituted in the third container, a cheaper runner in the fourth. Inspection of each shipment against the frozen spec catches it; the typical problems with Chinese kitchen cabinets are mostly drift of this kind.

How do developers handle site measurement across many units?

Standardise the design, but still measure each finished unit before cutting, and template worktops. The Foshan worktop maker offers remote buyers two routes: measure yourself with a mailed template and carry the risk, or let the factory measure, template and re-measure and carry it. Developers face the same choice at scale. Finished walls vary by more than a filler strip can absorb. Our cabinet measurement guide gives a per-unit site-check routine, and developer furniture packages covers phasing.

What duties and shipping issues apply to wholesale cabinets?

In the US, trade remedies can outweigh every other cost, so clear them before comparing factory prices. Wooden cabinets and vanities from China, and their components, have been subject to US anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders since 2020, with rates specific to each exporter. A licensed customs broker should confirm scope for your product and supplier — see anti-dumping duties on cabinets and vanities. Other markets have their own rules, and classification generally sits under heading 9403; our Chapter 94 guide is the starting point.

Flat-packed carcasses ship far denser than assembled units; see wholesale furniture for retailers for mixed containers.

How Source Foshan handles it