Characteristics of Farm Managements in China Introducing E-commerce

A Case Study on a Kiwi Fruit Producing Area in Xixia County, Henan Province

Abstract

China is one of the countries that has a developed e-commerce market, which has become one of the most important agricultural product marketing channels. In this study, we experimentally defined the characteristics of farm managements’ introduction of e-commerce, using the case of a kiwi fruit producing area in Henan Province. The most popular agricultural products sold through e-commerce are fruits. However, most farmers in the study area had sold all of their produce to middlemen before harvesting. Nevertheless, the number of farmers using e-commerce has increased exponentially in a short period of time since its inception in the area, with 40% of the surveyed farmers using it. E-commerce does not have a significant profit margin in comparison to sales to middlemen, but if idle labor can be used for shipment preparation work during the off-farm period, additional labor costs will not be an expense, resulting in higher revenues. When comparing farmers who have implemented e-commerce with those who have not, it is considered that information literacy and the availability of an idle workforce for shipment preparation work play a role.