Xubao Jujubes Hitch a Ride on the E-commerce Express: Jujube Farmers in Beichen, Tianjin, Find the Road to Prosperity

Recently, Xubao jujubes from Beichen District, Tianjin, which have been listed as a National Agro-product Geographical Indication, entered an online crowdfunding platform and raised more than 6,000 yuan in three days. "This is thanks to the municipal People's Congress village-stationed assistance task force, which brought a new development concept to Xubao Village -- getting jujubes onto e-commerce platforms, building brand awareness, attracting more picking tourists, and thereby leading jujube farmers onto the road to prosperity," said Li Peijun, Party branch secretary of Xubao Village.

Although Xubao jujubes are a National Agro-product Geographical Indication with top quality, the villagers had for years kept using traditional sales methods, which kept the price of the jujubes from rising and their brand awareness from growing. Li Peijun said: "The old sales model was that jujube traders came to the village to buy jujubes, and they always drove the price down, so the price of the jujubes could not go up. Every year it was these few jujube traders who came to the village to buy them, so the brand awareness of our village's jujubes could never get out there."

Changing traditional thinking is the foundation for leading the villagers to prosperity. So the village-stationed officials put Xubao jujubes onto e-commerce platforms, applying for agricultural product crowdfunding on the one hand, and on the other contacting Lecuntao, a leading nationwide village and township e-commerce platform, to cooperate in opening new online and offline sales channels.

Xu Haijun, vice president of Lecuntao's Specialty Pavilion Business Division, told reporters: "The Xubao jujube crop is about 600 tons. The jujubes have not yet reached maturity, so there is still the issue of pricing. If the price is right, we expect to sell about 100 tons. Our 'e-commerce + agriculture' combination is meant to connect the good local products with the outside world and let more people know about them -- one part promoting the brand, one part promoting quality."

Right now, as the Xubao jujube ripening season approaches, the online crowdfunding funds are growing day by day, and Lecuntao's jujube presale is about to begin. The new concept the municipal People's Congress village-stationed assistance task force brought to the village has given the villagers new hope for increasing their income. (Reporter Qu Tong)