Pinduoduo continues “0 commission policy” on agricultural food products

Pinduoduo, China’s largest online agricultural retail marketplace, said it would continue to waive the fees for farmers selling agricultural food products on its platform as it seeks to deepen its contributions to agricultural modernization.

“We are gratified that Pinduoduo serves over 16 million farmers, acting as their portal to the digital economy,” said Chen Lei, Chairman, and CEO of Pinduoduo. “We have seen first-hand how online agriculture retail and technology have benefitted farmers. We are pleased that farmers and our partners recognize it too, which is why they have spread the word and helped the number of farmers on our platform grow quickly.”

Chen pledged to maintain the company’s “zero commission” policy for agricultural products to help farmers build more resilient, efficient, and profitable businesses.

Pinduoduo is stepping up its focus on raising quality and service as it served 850 million annual active users in the quarter ended June, the slowest increase since 2019. Pinduoduo also posted second-quarter revenue that trailed the average analyst estimate, rising 89% to 23.0 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion). It recorded a rare profit but warned investors that it would be unlikely to recur due to heavy investments into agriculture.

To address critical needs in the agricultural sector and rural areas, Pinduoduo announced that it would launch a dedicated “10 Billion Agriculture Initiative,” which would not be driven by profit or commercial goals but strive to facilitate the advance of agritech, promote digital inclusion, provide agritech talents and workers with greater motivation and a sense of achievement.

Profits from the second quarter and any potential profits in future quarters would be allocated to the Initiative, Chen said.

“This is an important and challenging task, which we will invest in patiently,” he said. The “10 Billion Agriculture Initiative” is the latest in a series of programs by Pinduoduo aimed at supporting agricultural modernization and rural vitalization.

The company made promoting high-quality agricultural food products from hundreds of China’s growing regions the focus of its annual harvest festival. Earlier this month, Pinduoduo launched its flagship Smart Agriculture Competition to gather top scientists and researchers to develop cost-effective agricultural technology that is suitable for China’s smallholder farmers.

This year, the company has included nutritional content and environmental sustainability as key measures for evaluation, in addition to yield and cost.

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