The ministries of finance, as well as agriculture and rural affairs recently published a list of pilot counties, districts, and organizations for the refrigeration of local agricultural products, which included Haimen district in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province.

The move of promoting universal refrigeration of agricultural products in their original places is meant to boost high-quality agricultural development, consolidate poverty alleviation achievements, as well as improve the modernization of industrial chains and supply chains in rural areas, officials said.

According to a detailed plan, Haimen will pilot the refrigeration of its vegetables and agricultural products that are entering urban markets through e-commerce sales.

The district produced nearly 1.23 metric tons of vegetables over an area of 41,424 hectares in 2020, generating an output value of 2 billion yuan ($308.6 million). The area and output size have consistently been ranked in the top five among counties and districts in Jiangsu province for several years.

Haimen's locally produced taro and broad bean are geographical indication products.

As a pilot zone, Haimen is planning to build a number of refrigeration facilities for local agricultural products, cultivate a group of professional operators for the facilities, and establish a cold-chain logistics system that meets the demands of modern agricultural development.