There is no continental standard, and the number a supplier quotes is usually driven by shipping economics rather than production. The practical floor is generally whatever fills a shipping unit efficiently: a 20-foot container for sea freight, or a palletised consignment for air, because a part-filled container carries the same fixed handling and documentation cost spread over fewer units. That is why minimums cluster around one container for commodities and much lower for high-value, low-volume goods. Three ways to get a workable first order: ask for a trial order explicitly framed as a quality check before volume, which many suppliers accept because it is a route to a repeat customer; consolidate with other buyers or use a freight consolidator so several small consignments share a container and the fixed costs; or buy through an aggregator or processor who already holds stock rather than a producer who has to run production for you. Be aware that a low minimum sometimes signals a trading company rather than a producer — that is not automatically a problem, but it changes who you are dealing with and what margin sits in the price. Whatever the minimum, price the deal on landed cost per unit delivered, because a small order almost always carries a much higher per-unit logistics share.