Pinduoduo shops for agritech to transform China farms

Growing e-retailer expands grocery offerings despite regulatory concerns

Fresh produce emerged as an important battleground for Pinduoduo and rivals in Chinese e-commerce last year. (Courtesy of Pinduoduo)

NIKKI SUN, Nikkei staff writer

March 17, 2021 12:01 JST

HONG KONG -- Chinese online retailer Pinduoduo plans to invest globally in agricultural technologies to improve the productivity of the country's 65 million farmers and the efficiency of the supply chain, a senior executive said in an interview with Nikkei Asia.

The five-year-old e-commerce startup built success by targeting budget-savvy customers in a market carved up by Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com. Now with 700 million users and a valuation close to $200 billion, Pinduoduo sees digitalizing agricultural offerings as its next big chance to outgrow rivals.