Online trading value of agricultural products in Tai'an, East China's Shandong province, reached 5.9 billion yuan ($886 million) in the first-half of the year, with a staggering year-on-year growth of 144.8 percent, Tai'an Daily reported.
By the end of June, the total number of e-commerce service stations at town and village-level in Tai'an climbed to 2,044, including 150 sponsored by Alibaba Group and Jingdong Mall, both of which are e-commerce giants in China.
In recent years Tai'an has been striving to promote the role of e-commerce in its rural areas, cultivating leading e-commerce agribusinesses, and incubating online shops in rural areas.
Currently the rural economy is enjoying a strong growth momentum helped by the integration of online and offline trade channels.
This year, Tai'an has increased investment in construction of e-commerce parks such as Meng Xiang Gu and Xin Yi Tai, as well as several local e-commerce platforms. In a bid to improve the industry and set up the infrastructure required for a strong e-commerce industry, the local government has helped set-up warehousing, packaging, logistics and marketing, which will help to attract entrepreneurs and startups.
Tai'an has strengthened the construction of rural logistics networks by working with major express delivery companies such as ZTO Express and SF Express, as well as several government sectors including departments for transportation, agriculture, municipal administration for industry and commerce, and the municipal postal administration. It is hoped this will greatly improve the ease of trading agricultural products over the Internet.