Can Farmer Produce Circulation Joining Forces Stop the Price Roller Coaster?
On December 18, the first industry self-regulatory organization in the agricultural products circulation sector of Sichuan Province——the Sichuan Agricultural Products Circulation Association was officially inaugurated, drawing public attention.
Against the backdrop of the “Internet Plus” era, what role will the Agricultural Products Circulation Association play? Facing the “roller coaster” phenomenon in agricultural product prices, how will the association tackle the problem? With these questions in mind, our reporter recently conducted interviews.
Sichuan's first agricultural products circulation sector joins forces for development
On the 18th, the inaugural meeting of the Sichuan Agricultural Products Circulation Association was held in Chengdu, announcing the official establishment of the province's first voluntary self-regulatory organization in the agricultural products circulation sector.
“The purpose of establishing the association is to promote the sector's development through joining forces,” Li Shaoming, assistant to the association's president, told reporters. The association has 148 member units, encompassing wholesale markets, agricultural product sales associations, agricultural product retail markets, and more, basically covering every link in the agricultural products circulation sector.
According to data released by the Rural Work Committee of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee, as of 2014, our province had 119 agricultural product wholesale markets with a wholesale transaction volume of 141 billion yuan, and 3,782 farmers' markets with total retail transactions of 149.6 billion yuan. “The enormous number of agricultural products circulation participants have mostly acted independently in the past, and the problem of information asymmetry is serious. Therefore, the establishment of the association is merely a beginning; in the future we must intensify our efforts and strive to achieve information sharing and win-win cooperation in the agricultural products circulation sector as soon as possible,” Li Shaoming stated.
Future goal: build a unified brand and reshape the agricultural products circulation landscape
As the first industry self-regulatory organization in our province's agricultural products circulation sector, what changes will the Sichuan Agricultural Products Circulation Association bring to the agricultural products circulation sector? How will it solve the problem of information asymmetry in the production and sales links of agricultural products?
Li Shaoming told reporters that in the future the association will take specialty agricultural and sideline products as its entry point, establish corresponding alliances, vigorously pursue brand building, and implement a “dual brand” strategy; by developing e-commerce platforms, it will vigorously promote the optimized development of the agricultural products circulation system.
“The information asymmetry between supply and demand of agricultural products is the main factor causing the ‘roller coaster’ phenomenon in agricultural product prices.” Li Shaoming stated that in response, the association will actively cooperate with the government in industry statistics, data collection, situation analysis, information release, and more; provide technical consulting services in channel management, business models, and other aspects to the government, enterprises, and society; strengthen liaison and organization among member units to promote cross-provincial and cross-industry exchanges among member units, and cultivate a group of specialized markets that can drive the development of local specialty agricultural products.
On the day the association was established, the Sichuan Agricultural Products Circulation Association's Edible Fungi Alliance and Yak Meat Alliance were also inaugurated. “The alliances will start with specialty agricultural products, build shared brands for Sichuan edible fungi and yak meat, combine with enterprises, and develop and strengthen Sichuan's specialty agricultural products industry,” said Che Bo, executive vice president of the association and president of the Aba Prefecture Ecological Agricultural Products Production and Sales Association.