As of 2019, China’s policies and measures targeting poverty alleviation through e-commerce development covered all its national-level impoverished counties, a senior official from the Ministry of Commerce said Monday, reported by Farmers’ Daily on May 19.

Online retail sales of poor counties in China totaled 239.2 billion yuan (about $33.7 billion) in 2019, up 33 percent from the previous year, said the official at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on May 18.

Farmers have significantly benefited from the efforts to promote e-commerce development in rural areas, said the official, explaining that since some agricultural produce and featured products in rural, especially mountainous, areas were not able to be sold to the outside world due to poor transportation in the past, e-commerce has helped solve the problem.

This year, the Ministry of Commerce will intensify efforts to promote the role of e-commerce in poverty alleviation, the official said, noting that efforts will be made to further boost e-commerce development in impoverished areas and help up to 5 million farmers in poor areas secure employment and increase income.