Express companies help farmers sell tea

Express delivery trucks travel amid a tea garden in Tonglu county, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Express companies in Tonglu county, East China's Zhejiang province have been helping farmers sell agricultural products including tea.

April is the peak harvest season for spring tea in the county. However, the sales of tea have become a concern for local farmers due to the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Huang Shuiying, a farmer from Gewu village, which is located 50 kilometers from Tonglu's urban area, said that he is worried about sales and the availability of express delivery services amid the epidemic.

Gewu village is home to a 200-mu (13.3 hectares) tea garden located at an altitude of more than 900 meters. The tea grown in the garden was presented as tribute to emperors during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).

But such concerns among farmers like Huang have since been allayed by promises made by some express companies which have pledged to help farmers sell tea as well as other agricultural products.

Tonglu is renowned in China as the birthplace of founders of domestic express giants like STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express.

Express companies had previously helped Gewu village sell more than 1,000 kilograms of camellia oil. This year, they have promised to help sell at least 60 percent of the harvested tea, according to Zhong Shengliang, the Party chief of the village.

In addition, these companies have deployed drones to provide express delivery services to mountainous villages in the county.

Statistics show that more than 2,500 express companies across the nation are founded or managed by Tonglu natives, and over 12,000 people from the county are involved in the express delivery sector.                                          

A courier operates a drone to deliver goods in Tonglu county, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]