Profits from livestreams and pastures

Officials go online to sell agricultural products in rural settings in Hunan

Ou Jiangqu, 33, had been working as a television producer for more than a decade in her hometown of Changsha, Hunan province, when a job assignment took her down an unexpected path.

Last year, she visited Chengbu Miao autonomous county in the southwestern part of the province for the first time to film a story on the revitalization of rural areas in Hunan.

"I was impressed by the undamaged environment of Chengbu. The county has natural advantages for growing organic agricultural products," Ou said. "It is very far from the cities, and there's no high-speed rail to get here. It takes seven hours to drive from Changsha."

Feeling stuck in her career as a producer, the idea of starting an e-commerce business in Chengbu appealed to her.

"I saw a boom in livestreaming last year," she said.

"Chengbu has many high-quality agricultural products. To start e-commerce here is a win-win decision. On one hand, I can start a new career, and on the other I can help Chengbu expand sales channels and get rid of poverty."

However, things didn't go as smoothly as she had planned. The hosts Ou hired to sell agricultural products in the livestreaming room ran out of sales pitches and introduced new products when no one was watching online.

Ou encountered other hurdles, such as the high-quality produce she planned to sell not having proper certification and wholesale prices being higher than she expected.

Staff expenses were high and Ou's partner pulled out of the venture after a few months due to lack of profits.