The development of e-commerce in Chinese rural areas has fueled the sales growth of agriculture products, boosting rural incomes and driving entrepreneurship.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, from January to June, e-commerce transaction volume for agricultural products grew by 17.2 percent.
This surge has been fueled by the increasing popularity of livestreaming, which allows farmers to showcase their products and engage directly with customers online.
Luo Yun, a fruit grower from Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, sold three tons of peaches in a recent livestreaming session, generating over 30,000 yuan (more than 4,100 U.S. dollars) in sales.
"By selling directly to customers through e-commerce platforms, my profits have increased by 30 percent. At the same time, consumers can purchase fresher and higher-quality fruits at a discounted price of one to two yuan per kilogram," Luo said.
Deng Shenglin, who manages over a dozen hectares of orchards in Mianyang City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, also experienced the benefits of e-commerce. With support from a government-backed livestreaming project, Deng secured hundreds of orders in his first livestreaming event.
"Through my phone, I can sell my fruit to families across the country, something that was unimaginable with traditional sales methods," Deng said.
China's online retail sales of agricultural products reached an impressive 679 billion yuan in 2024, according to an industry report.
The agricultural e-commerce sector is projected to continue its expansion, with market size estimates exceeding 840 billion yuan by 2025 and surpassing two trillion yuan by 2035.
"The development of e-commerce has expanded the reach of agricultural products and fully leveraged the role of consumption in stimulating economic growth," said Zhou Guangsu, vice president of the Institute for Employment and Welfare Studies at Renmin University of China.
E-commerce fuels growth in agricultural product sales in China, boosting farmer incomes
