Portugal bets on digital influencers to promote agrifood in China
The Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal (AICEP) launches a campaign to promote the Portuguese agrifood sector in China, focusing on the emerging e-commerce of the Asian country.
A campaign, entitled Tales of Portugal (“Contos de Portugal”, in Portuguese) will run between November 2021 and April 2022, according to a statement from AICEP sent to Lusa news agency.
The program includes the participation of 29 digital influencers and activities in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the three largest cities in China.
The Asian country has been the world’s biggest market for online sales for eight years, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. E-commerce accounts for 24.9% of the Chinese retail sector.
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According to official data, in 2020, the total transaction volume of online sales in China reached 9.8 billion yuan (1.3 billion euros), more than half of the world’s total Internet sales.
This has given rise to the rise of digital influencers, who are rewriting the rules of advertising and brand management in the country.
The influencers hired by AICEP will promote the “best Portuguese products available in China”, through the social networks Weibo, Wechat, Yizhibo and Xiaohongshu, according to the AICEP note.
The Portuguese agency estimates that a campaign will reach more than 5.5 million consumers and industry professionals, over the next six months.
Wine, olive oil, pastries, fruit, canned fish and preserved tomatoes are among the main Portuguese products exported, namely to Spain, France, Brazil, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Italy.
“There are many other products in which it is worthwhile to further enhance the notoriety among end consumers, such as pork or dairy products”, pointed out the AICEP.
China’s imported pork doubled in 2020, also benefiting Portuguese slaughterhouses, as a swine fever outbreak decimated the Asian country’s herds.
According to data from the IFAP – Institute for the Financing of Agriculture and Fisheries of Portugal, the Asian country was the second best customer of Portuguese pork, acquiring a total of 56 million euros, a value surpassed only by Spain.
In 2020, pork made up 56% of Portuguese agri-food exports to China.
The Asian country feeds nearly 19% of the world’s population with just 8.5% of the world’s arable land. By comparison, Brazil, for example, has nearly 7% of arable land for 2.7% of the world’s population.
These numbers make China dependent on the outside to feed its population of 1.4 million people.
The extreme weather affecting important regions of China poses a challenge to the food security of the most populous country in the world.
Between 2010 and 2020, national exports of agri-food and beverages to China increased by 1176%, from 7.7 million euros to 98.3 million, according to the Portuguese National Institute of Statistics.