Ministry of Commerce: Online Retail Sales of Agricultural Products Grow 7.4% YoY from January to July

On August 21, He Yongqian, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, stated at a regular press conference that in recent years, through the joint efforts of various regions and departments, significant progress has been made in the high-quality development of rural e-commerce.

First, the sales of agricultural products and farmers’ income have been effectively boosted. From January to July 2025, online retail sales of agricultural products increased by 7.4% year-on-year, while the per capita disposable income of rural residents rose by 6.2% year-on-year in the first half of this year.

Second, the rural consumer market continues to thrive. E-commerce has further enriched the supply of goods and services in rural areas, allowing farmers to purchase high-quality and affordable products without leaving their homes. From January to July 2025, online retail sales in rural areas grew by 6.4% year-on-year.

Third, the rural logistics system has been increasingly improved. Since 2022, the county-level commercial development initiative has supported the construction and renovation of 1,285 county-level logistics centers and 1,457 township express delivery sites across the country. Currently, from Bangor County in the snowy plateau of Tibet to Fuyuan City in Heilongjiang, the easternmost part of China, logistics distribution networks at the county, township, and village levels have been continuously enhanced. The scale of joint distribution in rural areas continues to expand, with express delivery services now covering 95% of administrative villages nationwide.

Fourth, rural e-commerce entrepreneurship remains active. A total of 14 sessions of the National High-Quality Rural E-Commerce Development Lecture Series have been held, providing free e-commerce training to nearly 300,000 participants. According to data from relevant research institutions, as of the end of July, the number of rural online merchants nationwide exceeded 19.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 6.4%.

Moving forward, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to focus on comprehensively promoting rural revitalization. It will work with relevant departments to deepen the implementation of the high-quality rural e-commerce development project, further enhance the application level of rural e-commerce, promote the deep integration of e-commerce with primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas, and support farmers’ income growth and rural consumption.