National rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in China?

China exempts selling edible farm products from food licensing, but the definition does not name eggs; provinces set vendor rules. National city rules (2017 text) bar chickens in urban districts, except special needs.

Read from 5 official sources39 passages quotedChecked October 29, 2026

At a glance

License

Depends how you sell

Small-flock line

No food licence for selling edible agricultural products; eggs are not named, and provinces set the rules for food vendors

Farmers markets

Not stated

Cartons

Not stated

In plain English

The Food Safety Law licenses food production and sales, but selling edible agricultural products (primary farm products for eating) needs no licence (Art. 35(1)); the national texts read do not name shell eggs in that definition, though the Ministry of Agriculture lists poultry eggs among farm products under its compliance-certificate scheme. Small food workshops and food vendors must meet requirements suited to their scale, and provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities make the specific measures for them (Art. 36), which were not read.

A sourced reading of the rules in China, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the State Administration for Market Regulation (国家市场监督管理总局) and local food safety supervision departments (food sales); the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部) and local agriculture and rural affairs departments (farm products, livestock and animal health) before you sell.

Do you need a license?

Depends on how and how much you sellNo food licence for selling edible agricultural products; eggs are not named, and provinces set the rules for food vendors
  • Food production and sales are licensed; selling edible agricultural products, or only prepackaged food, needs no licence, and sellers of only prepackaged food file with the county-level or higher food safety department.Food Safety Law Art. 35(1)
  • Small food workshops and food vendors must meet food safety requirements suited to their scale and keep food hygienic, non-toxic and harmless; provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities make the specific measures.Art. 36
  • Sellers of edible agricultural products must keep purchase inspection records with the product name, quantity, purchase date and supplier details, and keep the vouchers.Art. 65
  • Spoiled, mouldy, dirty, adulterated or sensorially abnormal food may not be produced or sold.Art. 34 item 6
The exact wording
“国家对食品生产经营实行许可制度。从事食品生产、食品销售、餐饮服务，应当依法取得许可。但是，销售食用农产品和仅销售预包装食品的，不需要取得许可。”

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

Not stated

No rule on selling eggs at the farm or from home was found in the national texts read. Selling edible agricultural products needs no food licence (Food Safety Law Art. 35), and provinces set the rules for food vendors (Art. 36).

Farmers markets

Not stated

No rule naming eggs at markets was found in the national texts read. Individuals selling edible agricultural products at fixed places such as central trading markets must show the product name, origin and producer or seller at the stall or on the package (SAMR Order No. 81 Arts. 12, 49).

Stores and restaurants

Not stated

Rules for selling eggs to shops or restaurants were not found in the national texts read.

Also check with: Provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government, for food vendors (Food Safety Law Art. 36; SAMR Order No. 81 Art. 50)

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

No rule on reusing egg cartons was found in the national texts read (Food Safety Law, Agricultural Product Quality Safety Law, SAMR Order No. 81).

Refrigeration

No storage temperature for shell eggs was found in the national texts read. Sellers of edible agricultural products must check stored products regularly and clear spoiled ones, and products with special temperature or humidity needs require warm, cold or frozen storage equipment kept running (SAMR Order No. 81 Art. 16); whether shell eggs have such a need was not established.

The label must show

  • Sellers of edible agricultural products at fixed places must state the product's name, origin and the producer's or seller's name at a visible place or on the package, plus the shelf life where it matters and storage conditions where the shelf life depends on them (SAMR Order No. 81 Art. 12).
  • Poultry eggs are among the farm products under compliance-certificate management: farm enterprises and farmers' cooperatives must issue the certificate by production batch at the place of production, and households are encouraged to issue one, not required to (MARA Order 2025 No. 4 Arts. 3, 8, 9, in force 1 February 2026; Agricultural Product Quality Safety Law Art. 39).
  • Prepackaged food must carry a label with its name, specification, net content, production date, producer's name, address and contact details and shelf life, among other items (Food Safety Law Art. 67); food business operators selling bulk food mark its name, production date or batch, shelf life and their own details on the container or outer packaging (Art. 68). Whether eggs a household sells in a carton count as prepackaged or bulk food was not established.

Grading

No grading rule for shell eggs was found in the national texts read. Where farm enterprises, cooperatives or buyers must package or mark products, the mark shows the quality grade among other items as the rules require (Agricultural Product Quality Safety Law Art. 38).

Washing

No washing rule for shell eggs sold direct was found in the national texts read.

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Keeping chickens in China? →Registration, bird-flu housing orders and welfare rules, on their own page.Registration: conditions

Common questions

Can I sell eggs from my backyard chickens in China, and do I need a license?
China exempts selling edible farm products from food licensing, but the definition does not name eggs; provinces set vendor rules. National city rules (2017 text) bar chickens in urban districts, except special needs. Small-flock line: no food licence for selling edible agricultural products; eggs are not named, and provinces set the rules for food vendors. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in China?
Not stated in the sources we read. No rule naming eggs at markets was found in the national texts read. Individuals selling edible agricultural products at fixed places such as central trading markets must show the product name, origin and producer or seller at the stall or on the package (SAMR Order No. 81 Arts. 12, 49). Also check with Provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government, for food vendors (Food Safety Law Art. 36; SAMR Order No. 81 Art. 50).
Can I reuse egg cartons in China?
The sources we read don't settle this. In short: No rule on reusing egg cartons was found in the national texts read (Food Safety Law, Agricultural Product Quality Safety Law, SAMR Order No. 81). Ask the State Administration for Market Regulation (国家市场监督管理总局) and local food safety supervision departments (food sales); the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部) and local agriculture and rural affairs departments (farm products, livestock and animal health) before reusing cartons for eggs you sell.
What has to be on the carton label in China?
Sellers of edible agricultural products at fixed places must state the product's name, origin and the producer's or seller's name at a visible place or on the package, plus the shelf life where it matters and storage conditions where the shelf life depends on them (SAMR Order No. 81 Art. 12). Poultry eggs are among the farm products under compliance-certificate management: farm enterprises and farmers' cooperatives must issue the certificate by production batch at the place of production, and households are encouraged to issue one, not required to (MARA Order 2025 No. 4 Arts. 3, 8, 9, in force 1 February 2026; Agricultural Product Quality Safety Law Art. 39). Prepackaged food must carry a label with its name, specification, net content, production date, producer's name, address and contact details and shelf life, among other items (Food Safety Law Art. 67); food business operators selling bulk food mark its name, production date or batch, shelf life and their own details on the container or outer packaging (Art. 68). Whether eggs a household sells in a carton count as prepackaged or bulk food was not established. The rule reads: "销售者销售食用农产品，应当在销售场所明显位置或者带包装产品的包装上如实标明食用农产品的名称、产地、生产者或者销售者的名称或者姓名等信息。"
Do eggs I sell in China have to be kept cold?
In short: No storage temperature for shell eggs was found in the national texts read. Sellers of edible agricultural products must check stored products regularly and clear spoiled ones, and products with special temperature or humidity needs require warm, cold or frozen storage equipment kept running (SAMR Order No. 81 Art. 16); whether shell eggs have such a need was not established.
Sources
Read the 39 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • Whether shell eggs a household sells count as edible agricultural products under the Food Safety Law (Art. 35) was not established; the texts read do not name eggs in the definition, though the Ministry of Agriculture's certificate measures list poultry eggs among farm products (Order 2025 No. 4 Art. 3).
  • The provincial measures for small food workshops and food vendors (Food Safety Law Art. 36; SAMR Order No. 81 Art. 50) were not read; ask the local market regulation bureau.
  • No storage temperature, grading, washing or carton-reuse rule for shell eggs was found in the national texts read; national food safety standards were not read.
  • Household keepers' epidemic-prevention and manure requirements are set by provincial agriculture departments (Animal Husbandry Law Art. 39) and were not read; ask the county agriculture and rural affairs department.
  • Outside the urban districts of cities, whether chickens may be kept at a particular property was not established from the national texts read; ask the city sanitation authority and the county agriculture and rural affairs department.
  • Current bird-flu measures are not stated here; check the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs outbreak notices and the local agriculture department before acting.
  • The Animal Husbandry Law (revised 30 October 2022), the Animal Epidemic Prevention Law (revised 22 January 2021), the Agricultural Product Quality Safety Law (revised 2 September 2022), SAMR Order No. 81 (in force 1 December 2023) and the city sanitation regulations (revised 1 March 2017) were read in those texts; later amendments were not checked. The Food Safety Law was read as republished after its 12 September 2025 amendment.

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