Jiangnan Agricultural Products Smart Trading Center Under Construction

On Dec. 6, an official ceremony was held in Chongzuo to celebrate the laying of the foundation of the Jiangnan Agricultural Products Smart Trading Center. The smart trading center is an investment by Guangzhou’s Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market Co. Ltd., with the ceremony coming shortly after the formal announcement of the establishment of the Chongzuo section of the China (Guangxi) Experimental Free Trade Zone. The ceremony was officiated by Wang Fanghong, Pingxiang city’s party secretary and general director of the management committee of the Pingxiang Integrated Free Trade Zone. The ceremony’s special guests included the mayor of Pingxiang, Wu Xiaohui, and other senior officials from the city. Meanwhile, Ye Canjiang, chairman of Guangzhou Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market Co. Ltd., represented the company at the event.

According to Wu, the smart trading center will bring numerous advantages, including facilitating trade between China and ASEAN countries, promoting Pingxiang’s economic growth, increasing employment in the surrounding areas and supporting the socioeconomic development of this entry port. He added that Pingxiang’s government and party officials highly valued infrastructural projects and work aimed at attracting commercial investment and hoped that more parties would participate in these efforts to secure a brighter future for Pingxiang.

The smart trading center at Chongzuo will integrate sales, e-commerce and cold-chain storage, as well as customs, quarantine, logistics and financial services. The brick-and-mortar trading center will be combined with e-commerce technology to establish a modern internationalized online and offline integrated trading platform. A major feature of the trading center will be its adoption of the POP open platform, which permits suppliers to sell their products online, monitor inventories and set their own prices. Meanwhile, buyers can use the platform to place orders and complete entire transactions.

The center is located within Pingxiang’s Wantong Logistics Park, which is in the middle of the new experimental free trade zone. The first phase of the project will occupy 600 mu (400,000 m²) of land, which will later be increased to 1,000 mu (666,667 m²). The total investment is expected to reach approximately 1.5 billion Chinese yuan ($215 million).

Guangzhou Jiangnan also operates Fresh Jiangnan, a B2B fresh fruit trading platform. By leveraging the marketing prowess of the Guangzhou wholesale market, Fresh Jiangnan has already attracted over 100,000 members. The establishment of the smart trading center for agricultural products in the experimental free trade zone of Chongzou, coupled with the experimental free trade zone’s more favorable regulations, is expected to allow Jiangnan to reap the opportunities offered by the future growth potential for imported fresh fruits from ASEAN countries. Lin Xue Mei, general manager of the smart trading center, told Produce Report that the center would also be used as a platform to promote exports of Chinese agricultural products, making it a fully international trading platform.

Guangxi possesses a special geographic advantage for cross-border trade with ASEAN countries as it shares a long border with Vietnam spanning 1020 km. The major highway running through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam until the border with Guangxi offers a faster and more cost-effective means for transporting goods from these countries via Vietnam to China. Consequently, the border city of Pingxiang is probably the most important port for the importation of fresh fruits from ASEAN countries. In 2016, it became China’s first experimental cross-border trade national inspection point, and the new experimental free trade zone is expected to further raise its stature.

Images: Pingxiang City Media Center