Pineapples Sold Online in Five Days: Farmers' E-commerce Is Unstoppable

Original title: Focusing on Xuwen pineapples' low prices hurting farmers

Is it really that hard for farmers to "play" with e-commerce?

This morning, staff from an e-commerce company in Xuwen were sorting pineapples, preparing to ship them elsewhere.

Yesterday (the 4th), this newspaper called for action: rescuing the Xuwen pineapple market cannot rely only on "emotional appeals." As a major agricultural county, Xuwen must dare to take the e-commerce path so that its products can reach farther. However, in the view of many local enterprises and fruit farmers, due to the lack of brand-name appeal and unfamiliarity with internet technology, taking the e-commerce path is no easy task.

Is it really that hard for farmers to "play" with e-commerce? In response, a principal official of a relevant department in Xuwen County said that for Xuwen agriculture to take the e-commerce path, the key lies in cultivating internet thinking. How to make e-commerce widely known and enable fruit farmers to use and make good use of the internet is a question every department needs to consider.

Trial—

Selling pineapples online via WeChat Moments

Recently, seeing Xuwen pineapples listed on major out-of-town e-commerce platforms with considerable sales, Deng Wei, a fruit farmer and first-tier agent, could not help but feel restless. But hampered by a lack of online store management experience, he could only watch others' results and "drool." "If I had established contact with e-commerce platforms in advance, I could do e-commerce too," Deng Wei said.

Just as Deng Wei hesitated, a courier company in Xuwen used the WeChat Moments platform to launch a massive online pineapple sales campaign: "One basket of pineapples, 10-12 pieces, about 28-30 jin, 50 yuan with free shipping within Guangdong Province." Over these days, this message was forwarded widely across Moments. Although simple, the method proved highly effective: the courier company received more than 8,000 orders per day. Using internet thinking to sell pineapples was the idea of Lin Wen, head of the courier company. In 2004, he opened an online store on Taobao, which has now reached Crown level. As for why he chose Moments rather than an online store to promote pineapples, he said that due to the lack of early-stage promotion and brand-name appeal, rashly selling through an online store might not work well. "Because of fruit packaging issues, some products suffer a certain amount of damage by the time they reach customers. We have to reship them. Although there were some disappointments, this 'test of the waters' inspired us and shows that the e-commerce market for Xuwen pineapples is huge," Lin Wen said.

Fast—

Getting pineapples successfully online in 5 days

"Internet technology is too complicated," "I've never tried it, so I don't know how to start," "There's no computer or internet at home, so even if I have ideas I can't carry them out." During interviews, reporters learned that in farmers' eyes, selling agricultural products through e-commerce channels seems like an unattainable thing. Is it really that hard for farmers to "play" with e-commerce? In response, this newspaper uses the "Villagers' Direct Supply" e-commerce operation as an example to explain.

Upon learning of the Xuwen pineapple backlog, the "Villagers' Direct Supply" e-commerce team arrived in Xuwen on the evening of April 24. From the 25th to the 26th, they visited the fields, conducted investigations on multiple fronts, collected product information, and learned about market conditions. From the 27th to the 28th, they looked for local logistics companies and packaging box companies. On the morning of the 29th, they reached a cooperation agreement with a large local grower to solve the supply problem. Xuwen pineapples officially went online on that e-commerce platform on the evening of the 29th. At present, the platform has accumulated more than 1,500 orders.

From visiting the market to getting the product online, this out-of-town company took only 5 days, and its operation required solving problems in just three areas: supply, packaging, and logistics. "Actually, as long as an e-commerce platform has been established in advance, getting a product successfully online is not a difficult thing," said Zeng Qiguang, head of the marketing department at "Villagers' Direct Supply." The most important thing is that farmers must have internet awareness. Next, the e-commerce platform plans to cooperate with local fruit farmers to sell not only pineapples but also high-quality agricultural products such as papaya, corn, and galangal.

Model—

Local farmer Jin Chen cooperates with more than 50 e-commerce platforms

The reason "Villagers' Direct Supply" could open the pineapple online channel so quickly is related to Xuwen farmer Jin Chen. Jin Chen, 42 this year, is a villager of Nalang Village, Maichen Town, Xuwen. With a low level of education, he traveled widely in his youth and once hauled Xuwen agricultural products to various places for sale. In 2009, he "smelled" the business opportunity of the internet and hoped to change the traditional sales model. In Shenzhen, he and several partners founded an e-commerce company, initially mainly selling out-of-town apples, cherries, red dates, and Zhanjiang local agricultural and seafood products, with the company mainly responsible for the supply link.

At present, the company has reached cooperation with more than 50 e-commerce enterprises at home and abroad, and its products are sold domestically and overseas. "We have also contracted more than 7,000 mu of land in Yingli, Leizhou, of which more than 6,000 mu is planted with pineapples." In March last year, the company used its huge e-commerce system to get Xuwen pineapples online in advance, with unified packaging, dedicated staff handling orders, and customer service follow-up, and the market response was good. When "Villagers' Direct Supply" sought cooperation, the two sides hit it off immediately.

"Xuwen pineapples are known as one of China's top ten famous tropical fruits, crisp and juicy, fragrant and sweet, with excellent taste. By rights, they should not be so cheap," Jin Chen said. Xuwen pineapples themselves are a brand; even at low prices, there should be a standard, and this year Xuwen pineapple prices fell to a level seen once in 20 years, which is heartbreaking.

Jin Chen said that selling agricultural products through the internet can not only broaden sales channels but also enhance brand reputation. As long as you have confidence in the product and ensure the most basic supply, packaging, and other issues, finding an e-commerce platform is not difficult. Compared with traditional sales methods, online sales are merely a change of method.

Way out—

Enable fruit farmers to use and make good use of the internet

Insufficient promotion, chaotic market management, lack of after-sales service, and lax product quality control—in the view of Huang Runke, deputy director of the Xuwen County Market Property Management Bureau—these are the problems commonly encountered by local fruit farmers and enterprises testing the waters of e-commerce.

Huang Runke said that the internet's role in promoting the sales of agricultural products should not be underestimated, and e-commerce transactions will become an important channel for agricultural product sales in the future. It is not a difficult thing for farmers to "play" with e-commerce; the key lies in changing their thinking.

How can e-commerce be used to find sales channels for Xuwen agricultural products? Huang Runke said: First, talent is key; it is necessary to attract professional technical operations personnel and at the same time cultivate a group of e-commerce talents. Second, in response to the current situation of local e-commerce enterprises being too scattered, the next step is to plan to establish an e-commerce association and, through the association platform's operations, develop by joining forces. Third, establish a complete express delivery and logistics platform, with the government providing funding and policy support. Fourth, strengthen promotion so that e-commerce becomes widely known and fruit farmers can use and make good use of the internet. (Planning/Cui Cailing, Gao Wei; Text and photos/Reporter Zhou Wenshuo)