Pinduoduo Launch “Help the Farmers” Initiative Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

Chinese farmers are having difficulty selling their crops after large agricultural wholesale markets were closed as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. As one of China’s largest e-commerce platforms for agricultural products, Pinduoduo has launched its dedicated “Help the Farmers” channel on February 10, to match the demand from of users with products from over 12 million agricultural producers.

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The channel provides multiple options for consumers to buy fresh produce directly from farmers in poverty-stricken area. By using its recommendation model and logistics data to identify potential consumers, Pinduoduo made 280,000 agricultural products available through the dedicated channel. The initiative now covers almost 400 agricultural areas in China, including 230 poverty-stricken counties.

Pinduoduo also pour in a considerable amount of subsidies to sustain the growth of its e-commerce grocery business. According to the company, 500 million yuan are committed to subsidizing purchases of agricultural products from farmers. Meanwhile, Pinduoduo is also providing logistics subsidies of up to 3 yuan per order for farmers selling on their platform.

Pinduoduo’s “Help the Farmers” Channel (SoPinduoduo is China’s leading e-commerce platform for agricultural products with over 586,000 merchants supporting more than 12 million farmers countrywide. Last year, the company recorded gross merchandise value of 136.4 billion yuan for agricultural products, representing a 109% increase from the previous year.