China’s e-commerce giants, including Tmall.com, JD.com and Suning.com, have been competing for dominance in the crab market, Yicai.com reported.
In a pre-sale of crabs on Tmall.com on September 21, 140,000 crabs were ordered in just one minute. While on September 22, JD.com and the local government of Sihong county in Jiangsu province combined to kick off a major fishery of crabs in that region.
Also, Suning.com claims to have contracted half of the sources for crabs in the country, directly fishing from eight lakes, two rivers and four producing areas.
The participation of e-commerce giants in the crab market will help to nurture consumers and better control the cost of logistics, said Cui Wei, a crab firm owner in Taihu Lake.
As of August, sales of crabs on Tmall.com and JD.com have increased nearly 500% from a year earlier, hitting a historical high in just three years.