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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Business -> 
Shipping of Spring Festival delicacies boosts economy
    2021-02-09  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

CHINESE people unable to re-unite with loved ones this Lunar New Year are sending them a taste of home instead, using food packages to bridge the distance, as coronavirus warnings in some regions discouraged the usual lengthy journeys home.

Beijing resident Wang Hui has received homemade dried beef, fried rabbit, spicy tofu and smoked pork that his mother bought online for him after he decided not to visit his southwestern home city of Chongqing.

“The new year holiday is such a special time that she must make sure I have food I love — that is, home food,” said Wang, 27, who works for an Internet firm.

The surge in such small comforts for separated families will help consumption in China’s economy. E-commerce and online sites have benefited as sales of food surged 40 percent during a shopping festival from Jan. 20 to Feb. 3, versus the last Lunar New Year period, broadcaster CCTV said.

Food and beverage orders have spiked ahead of this year’s holiday, say e-commerce and retail sites such as JD.com, Pinduoduo and JD Daojia, with JD.com flagging a surge in items between major cities and smaller regions.

“After a difficult year due to the pandemic, people will likely be willing to splurge on food items as a comfort and a reward,” said Imogen Page-Jarrett, an analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit.

“Consumers will see it as essential to send gifts, including food, to their relatives, even if they cannot return in person.”

City workers are sending items of local cuisine and staples such as rice and cooking oil to families, while parents send hometown delicacies to children in the city.

“Not going home for the Spring Festival, my parents sent Spring Festival goods,” has become a trending topic on Weibo.

Beijing has become the top destination for food ordered in remote areas.

Delicacies range from West Lake lotus root starch from the city of Hangzhou and red sausage from northeastern Harbin to hot pot ingredients from southwestern Sichuan and Chaoshan handmade beef balls from Guangdong, said JD.com.

Producers of local delicacies are cashing in on the demand, with New Year online sales of Beijing brands, such as Daoxiangcun bakery goods and Wuyutai tea, up 135 percent and 500 percent respectively on the year, media reports say.

(SD-Agencies)

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