Mengzi county’s famous pomegranates are being given a technological boost with the implementation of e-commerce into the industrial chain. Sellers and buyers are able to get in contact at just a touch of a button thanks to internet business models.

The pomegranates grown in Yunnan’s Mengzi county have a 30-year history, and the industry has grown from strength to strength. So much so, that in 2010 the Mengzi pomegranate was listed as product of geographical identification.

The pomegranates of Mengzi county, Yunnan province have gained national fame. [Photo/yunnan.cn]

All the way back in 1987, Mengzi county had just 2,480 acres of land dedicated to growing pomegranates, but as of 2015, there are some 12.5 million mu, yielding more than a quarter of a million tons of pomegranates and an income of 885 million yuan ($128.47 million).

And much of this has been thanks to extra orders which have come via the e-commerce platform recently established in Mengzi.

"This year, the sale of pomegranates is expected to exceed 300,000 tons, which will benefit 8,000 farmers," said Zhang Hong, a pomegranate salesman at the Mengzi booth at the 14th China International Agricultural Trade Fair.

A high-speed rail line runs across the small village of Xiaohongzhai, famous for its pomegranates. [Photo/yunnan.cn]

At this year’s fair, Mengsheng soft seed pomegranates from Mengzi proved so popular that hundreds of kilograms were sold within three days.

“Our pomegranates have many advantages over those from other places,” said Zhang.

“The online sales volume this year is expected to reach 20 million yuan ($3 million), 70 percent of the total sales volume,” said Zhang.

Edited by Owen Fishwick