Foreign Diplomats Promote Sale of Imported Agrifoods during 618 Using Livestreaming

Diplomatic officers from 16 countries promoted their products on Taobao Live. Thailand’s Vice-premier Jurin Laksanawisit sold 12 thousand durians, 30 thousand tender coconuts, 20000 kilograms of fragrant rice, and 100 thousand shrimps. More overseas countries have opened a “country official flagship store” on T-mall and other platforms.

Livestreaming has become one of the most important marketing and sales channels on e-commerce platforms in China. During the 618 shopping festival this year, ambassadors, consuls, and counselors of 10 European countries, including Poland, Serbia, and Hungary, broadcasted their local products on Pinduoduo to an audience of 2 million ^[1].

On Jun. 9, diplomatic officers from 16 countries, including Thailand, Russia, South Korea, and Singapore, promoted their products on Taobao Live. The live stream attracted approximately 9 million audience members, and it is noteworthy that the sales of Thai food products accounted for 40% of the overall live stream transaction volume with the help of Thailand vice-premier Jurin Laksanawisit. He sold 12 thousand durians, 30 thousand tender coconuts, 20000kg of fragrant rice, and 100 thousand shrimps ^[2].

Why do diplomats promote products by live streaming ?

Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, countries are struggling to boost their domestic economy and are looking to China's now open markets as a viable path to offset the negative economic impact of COVID-19. The market size of fresh food (retail) in China is expected to reach 5000 billion RMB in 2020, and imported fresh food is increasingly popular among Chinese consumers.

The “618 shopping festival” is the largest e-commerce sales promotion in the first half of 2020 (click here for more details). 95% of consumers said they would take part in this shopping spree and were expecting significant promotions and offers on Tmall.

Strategies to expand in the Chinese market

Ten countries, including Thailand, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand, have launched their national flagship store on Tmall to promote their local agrifoods to Chinese consumers. Products endorsed by an official authority are considered safer, and it is also a good way to build a sound national brand identity in China. Many countries are also improving their supply chain capability to facilitate bilateral trade with China. In May this year, Thailand launched a train specialized for fruit exportation to China.