The 2020 Agricultural Fair for Poverty-stricken Areas in Xinjiang (Kashgar) was held on July 30. The online event was co-organized by Department of Market and Information Development of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. More than 100 suppliers from 20 poverty-stricken counties in Xinjiang, offering more than 160 high-quality agricultural products, held virtual busineess talks with 60 buyers from all over the country. The value of contracts sealed at the event was 775 million yuan.

The event was designed to expand market acess for agricultural products of poverty-stricken areas in Xinjiang, mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on local economics, promote their high-quality agricultural specialties, and establish and improve a long-term marketing mechanism. The event introduced a wide variety of agricultural specialties of different regions and prefectures of Xinjiang, arousing strong interest of buyers in seting up partnerships and advancing cooperation. Both suppliers and buyers said that the online event drew them closer and promoted the business ties between poverty-stricken areas in Xinjiang and other places over the country. They agreed that the event was quite helpful and successful in promoting production through better marketing.

Concurently with the event, a ceremony was launched to promote agricultural specialties of four regions and prefectures in southern Xinjiang on the Xuexiqiangguo app. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs was reported to hold another two agricultural fairs for poverty-stricken areas in the second half of the year.