Goldfish raised by Rugao Changdie Ornamental Fish Professional Cooperative in Rugao, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

The Rugao Changdie Ornamental Fish Professional Cooperative in Rugao, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, explored new ways to sell goldfish in recent years and has achieved promising results.

Previously, the sales of goldfish farmed by the cooperatives were mainly wholesale, but later, due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, wholesale sales fell sharply, said Shi Haowen, leader of the cooperative.

In July last year, the cooperative started selling goldfish on e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD.com.

Daily sales of goldfish can exceed 800, worth nearly 30,000 yuan ($4,397). Compared to offline sales, the sales volume has increased nearly twice, said Shi.

With the help of live streaming, goldfish produced by the cooperative are not only popular in China, but also exported to Japan, Singapore, Europe and the United States, with annual sales exceeding 10 million yuan.

In addition, the cooperative has encouraged surrounding villagers to raise goldfish.

Under the leadership of the cooperative, Dongchen town has seen a total of 31 villagers become involved in goldfish farming since 2020, with a total farming area of 226 mu (15 hectares). Villager's annual income has increased by more than 50,000 yuan.