Watermelons and other agricultural products are seen during a watermelon festival held in Rongjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 15, 2022. Photo: Xinhua

China's online retail sales of agricultural products in 2022 reached 531.38 billion yuan, up 9.2 percent year-on-year, reflecting the fast development of e-commerce in rural areas last year, data from China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) showed. 

In 2022, overall domestic e-commerce sales recorded a steady increase, reaching 13.79 trillion yuan, up 4 percent year-on-year. Online sales in rural areas reached 2.17 trillion yuan, up 4.9 percent year-on-year. 

Online sales in Northeast and Central China saw the sharpest increase, with annualized 13.2 percent and 8.7 percent growth rates, respectively. Online sales in East China rose 3.8 percent year-on-year, while West China recorded 3 percent year-on-year growth in e-commerce volume. 

MOFCOM data also revealed the development of cross-border e-commerce in 2022. The total import and export volume of China cross-border e-commerce volume reached 2.11 trillion yuan, up 9.8 percent year-on-year. 

Global Times