AgriChina News Alerts

Internet shopping develops rapidly in China. Chinese consumers spent USD125 billion (RMB785 billion) online in 2011, up 66% year on year, according to a study by China's largest e-commerce company Alibaba. Internet shopping transaction value in China will exceed USD159 billion (RMB1 trillion) in 2012, according to China's Xinhua News Agency. It is estimated that China will be the largest internet shopping market in the world in the near future.

Many experts said that China has entered the internet era. What changes will this bring to the sale of agricultural produces?

In recent years, many companies and individuals have tried to sell agricultural produces online. However, the e-commerce of agricultural produces faces some challenges. Domestic consumers usually buy clothing, shoes and books online for lower price and convenience. However, the agricultural produces sold online don't have price advantage. Most of the agricultural produces are really heavy and hard to keep fresh, so the cost in delivery and storage of these products is even higher than that in traditional sales channel.

However, some high-end agricultural produces such as organic products sell well online. Consumers of these products are less sensitive to price. With the increasing demand for high-end agricultural produces after a series of food scandals, some companies have set their feet into this market.