Gangjin-gun Achieves 21.8 Billion KRW in Direct Sales of Agricultural Specialty Products

193% Increase Year-on-Year... Establishment of Online Fresh Flower Direct Sales

(The second from the left) Lee Seung-ok, the mayor of Gangjin County, visited the Gangjin Nonghyup Local Food Direct Store, which opened in August last year, to meet producers and hear product explanations. Photo by Gangjin County

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su] Gangjin-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 9th that it achieved direct sales of agricultural specialty products totaling 21.8 billion KRW by November. This figure represents a 193% increase in sales compared to 11.3 billion KRW in November of last year.

Starting with direct sales of 7.9 billion KRW in 2017, Gangjin-gun's sales have risen annually to 11.5 billion KRW in 2018 and 12.3 billion KRW in 2019. Especially this year, sales surpassed 21.8 billion KRW as of November.

This achievement is analyzed as the result of concentrating administrative capabilities on revitalizing direct sales centered on distribution to foster agricultural household added value, a core pledge of the 7th local government administration.

To overcome the disadvantage of being far from major consumers of agricultural specialty products, the county has promoted consumer direct sales using parcel delivery and has worked hard to cultivate lifelong customers through systematic management of the customer database (D/B).

Since last year, parcel delivery customers who purchased agricultural specialty products have been systematically classified by region and purchase items, building a fixed customer database of over 120,000 people. This database is actively used for promoting agricultural specialty products and sending thank-you letters for purchases, serving as a foundation for direct sales and enabling continuous management.

Additionally, Gangjin-gun achieved a remarkable feat by introducing the nation’s first online direct sales linked with a flower cultivation complex, generating total sales of 800 million KRW this year alone.

By pioneering and establishing online direct sales for fresh flowers?a sector no one had attempted before?this initiative contributes to stable income generation for flower farmers struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The Gangjin Nonghyup Local Food Direct Store, officially opened on August 29 last year, is also experiencing soaring sales. From its explosive response at opening, the store currently sells 650 items supplied by 326 farms.

By minimizing the distribution process between producers and consumers, it greatly helps small-scale crop farming households that had been disadvantaged in sales, thereby contributing to the actual income increase of farming and fishing households. Sales have also grown rapidly, achieving 2.5 billion KRW in sales over 11 months.

County Governor Lee Seung-ok said, “The activation of direct sales and the Gangjin Nonghyup Local Food Direct Store, promoted as pledges of the 7th local government administration, are rapidly settling in and providing real help to the income of farming and fishing households. The county is also striving to activate direct sales between producers and consumers through systematic fixed customer database management, and will continue to play a role in further revitalizing Gangjin-gun’s direct sales through continuous customer management and system improvements rather than one-time efforts.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.