Technology boosts Chinese crawfish sales

New digital technology helped Xuyi County crawfish farmers in China's Jiangsu Province access more consumers across the country. Xuyi crawfish are bright red, clean, tender, and revered for their fresh and sweet taste. However, consumers outside the province often get sold imitations of this delicacy. Farmers face logistical, geographical, and technological challenges when marketing the crawfish to the rest of the country.
The Suning Group, which develops intelligent retail service solutions, offered training courses for the farmers. More than 300 small and micro e-commerce merchants from Xuyi County participated in the programme. They learned the difference between food and agriculture and gained insights into how to market their unique agricultural products online. Trainees also learned foundational steps to run an e-commerce business, including using new media to open stores and promote products.
The company taught us all the components needed to run an online business effectively. From operational planning to online system operations, said Qian Haiwen, general manager of Xuyi Lobster Supply Chain Co.
Previously, the online technology provider helped farmers from the mountainous Yuegou village in the central Henan Province. With policy support from the county and assistance from Suning.com, farmers were able to build a complete egg supply chain with a record of 100,000 orders per day and a monthly turnover of RMB20 million (US$3.13 million).