The tiny Southeast Asian sultanate Brunei opened a shop on Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, according to an official statement by JD.
The first product offered to Chinese consumers is the blue shrimp which Brunei is famous for cultivating.
Other than its shrimp, Brunei has lots of high-quality fresh produce that’s less known to Chinese consumers, said Tang Yishen, who is in charge of JD.com’s offline fresh produce business 7Fresh, a rival to Alibaba’s Hema.
He added that Brunei’s national store will make more food from the country accessible to Chinese consumers.
Dato Mohd Amin Liew, Brunei’s Minister of Finance and the Economy, said that the national store is the first step for the country’s products to enter the Chinese market. The trade cooperation between the countries will go beyond food to include logistics and agriculture in the future, he added.
JD.com is working with various Southeast Asian nations to grow its fresh product portfolio. In Thailand, JD.com’s 7Fresh and Yonghui Superstores are set to co-invest RMB 5 billion (nearly USD 750 million) to establish a direct sourcing and distribution line for tropical fruits, KrAsia reported.
Contact the writer at jingli@kr-asia.com
Editor: Nadine Freischlad