Xinjiang alleviates poverty through boosting consumption

By Li Yanan, People’s Daily

Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has helped impoverished people shake off poverty by unleashing consumption potential.

Memetturdi Abliz is a farmer from Wukadi village, Cele township, Cele county of Hotan prefecture. Last year, the impoverished man planted 0.87 hectares of Chinese yam.

However, due to an overwhelming supply taking place after the expansion of planting area of Chinese yam in the town, the price of the product fell and the sales were bad. As a result, Memetturdi had to store the unsold products in a cold refrigerator.

When Memetturdi worrying about his business, He Hongxing, first Party chief of the village, head of the work team sent by the State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Co., Ltd. to Wukadi village, offered assistance to him.

He reported Memetturdi’s situation to his company, which then asked all of its affiliated companies in Xinjiang to buy Chinese yam directly from the village. He and his colleagues also helped villagers sort their products before having them delivered.

Last year, the affiliated companies of State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Co., Ltd. purchased 1/3 of Chinese yam from the village. This year, the company has ramped up poverty alleviation efforts by planning to buy 20 million yuan worth of agricultural products from 12 villages in Cele county.

To help expand sales channels of agricultural produce, Xinjiang has released consumption potential for poverty alleviation in recent years. It has also adjusted consumption structure of urban and rural residents and got through the “last mile” in poverty alleviation from various channels, creating a broader market for local specialties.

In the first quarter of 2020, the Xinjiang society bought 326 million yuan worth of farm products from poverty-stricken regions, helped sell 479 million yuan worth of agricultural products, according to director of the regional poverty alleviation and development office.

Products from impoverished regions worth 29.41 million yuan were sold by stimulating consumption, and 176 million yuan worth of farm products were sold with the help of the whole society in Xinjiang.

Besides carrying out poverty alleviation work through consumption and matching agricultural products with targeted markets, Xinjiang has made full use of of live streaming to advertise local specialties.

On April 12, Mahmut Omerjan, head of Moyu county, Hotan advertised dried fruit for local farmers in front of a mobile phone camera in a jujube garden covering more than 6.67 hectares. The livestream aroused the interest of purchasing agents and net users in Xinjiang dried fruit.

The two-hour long show attracted a total of 400,000 viewers, including 120,000 purchasing agents of bulk commodities, and witnessed 26,000 orders placed with a total value of 860,000 yuan.

“The Internet could increase the popularity of local agricultural products and broaden sales channels,” said Shu Chang, secretary of the leading Party members’ group and deputy director of the bureau of commerce and industry informatization of Moyu county.

This year, the county will continue to make use of live streaming platforms to advertise livestock and poultry products, while focusing on cultivating local influencers for poverty alleviation.

Mahmut Omerjan, head of Moyu county, Hotan advertises local dried fruit in front of a mobile phone camera in a jujube garden. Photo by People’s Daily Online