Overseas Merchandise Traded on Go-to Platform Pinduoduo to Promote Agricultural Product
Chinese social commerce platform Pinduoduo has partnered with foreign embassies and consulates to sell overseas merchandise through live-streaming sessions.
The company held a live broadcast with the Royal Thai Consulate in Shanghai on June 23, showcasing the Southeast Asian kingdom’s tropical fruits including durians, mangosteens, longans and coconuts. The four-hour event attracted more than 330,000 viewers.
“China has been Thailand’s largest trading partner for years,” the Consul General of the Royal Thai Consulate in Shanghai said during the live-broadcast. “Thailand is ready to export high-quality agricultural products to countries including China.”
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China currently imports 22 types of fruits from Thailand. Being a tropical country which is rich in fruits throughout the year due to its geographical position, Thailand supplies a large number of consumers in China and around the world with different kinds of fruits. Thailand has increased its durian exports in the first quarter of 2020. According to data released by Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce, exports of Thailand’s fresh and frozen durian in the first quarter of 2020 rose 25.8% year-on-year to $264 million, among which exports to China mainland accounted for 67% of its total amount.
“The Commercial Department of the Royal Thai Consulate in Shanghai hopes to promote more Thai products on Pinduoduo’s marketplace with the help of its technology and sales channels,” Yanlan Zhuang, the Business Consul said.
The live-streaming session is the latest in a series of collaborations with various embassies and consulates. Pinduoduo has organized live broadcasts with Serbia, Latvia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria in June to showcase their specialties to more than 600 million users.
In a live broadcast with The Embassy of Denmark in Shanghai on June 20, the business consul of the embassy partnered with well-known Danish brands such as cookie maker Kjeldsens, jewelry manufacturer Pandora and outerwear clothing brand RAINS to promote Danish merchandises with exclusive deals, attracting more than 320,000 viewers to the event.
The purchases made in Pinduoduo‘s “global purchase” campaign during the “6.18 Mid-year Shopping Festival” increased by more than 470% from a year ago, according to the head of the “global purchase” division at the company.
“We have seen a growing demand for overseas merchandises from our customers. We will team up with more embassies and consulates in the near future, introducing more foreign brands and allowing our 628 million customers to benefit from their exclusive deals and services.”
