In August 2026, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) released the 15th Five-Year Plan to Modernize the Agricultural Product Marketing and Distribution System. Covering 2026–2030, it aims to improve how agricultural products move from production areas to consumers.
By 2030, China intends to establish a more efficient, interconnected, and digitally enabled system that better links production with market demand. Priorities include upgrading wholesale markets, expanding cold-chain and logistics infrastructure, strengthening agricultural brands and distribution networks, improving market information, and raising small farmers’ market access and incomes. By 2035, the system is expected to contribute to food-supply security, productivity and quality, and higher rural incomes.
Digitalization features prominently: artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies are expected to support market forecasting, logistics, supply-chain coordination, and wholesale-market management. The focus is primarily domestic, but the plan also promotes Chinese exports and brands, overseas distribution networks, and international cooperation on standards and certification.
Key indicators for 2030
All eight headline indicators are indicative rather than legally binding:
Indicator | 2025 baseline | 2030 target |
Wholesale markets jointly supported by provincial and central authorities | 41 | 50 |
Cold-chain collection and distribution centers in agricultural production areas | 1,000 | ≥ 1,500 |
International agricultural exhibitions and events | 8 | ≥ 12 |
Premium agricultural brands | 320 | ≥ 500 |
Online retail sales of agricultural products | RMB 783.3 billion | ≥ RMB 1 trillion |
Commodity-specific information and early-warning systems | 19 | ≥ 24 |
Wholesale markets with annual turnover above RMB 10 billion | 98 (2024 baseline) | ≥ 110 |
Core agricultural product brokers | 5,000 | 30,000 |
The main policy goals in the plan
Modernize wholesale markets and logistics. A tiered network of national and regional wholesale markets in major production areas, complemented by village-level service facilities.
Expand cold-chain capacity. More pre-cooling, refrigeration, freezing, grading, processing, storage, and distribution facilities near production areas, plus smaller refrigerated storage at village and farm level.
Strengthen links between producers and consumers. Contract farming, supermarket direct procurement, producer-retailer cooperation, community retail, e-commerce, and group buying, plus customized products with rapid delivery, and pre-sales with centralized distribution.
Strengthen Chinese agricultural brands. A structured system of regional public, corporate, and product brands, supported by trademarks, geographical indications, and international expansion.
Increase integration with international markets. Closer alignment of domestic and international trade rules, mutual recognition of testing and certification, stronger trade-service companies, overseas warehouses, Belt and Road channels, and international commodity distribution centers.
Improve market information and early-warning systems. Integrated data on production, prices, sales, inventories, costs, consumption, and trade, through a network covering around 30 core and 200 key wholesale markets, with publication at regular intervals and in some cases daily.
Professionalize distribution businesses and brokers. Larger logistics and distribution companies, with better integration of smaller enterprises, cooperatives, and family farms into modern supply chains.
Accelerate digitalization and AI applications. Smart sensors, radio-frequency identification (RFID), automated warehousing, intelligent logistics, and digital trading systems in wholesale markets, alongside AI applications including large models, intelligent agents, and digital supply chains.
Strengthen the link between market demand and production. Markets, brokers, and distributors are expected to give farmers better information on specifications, prices, and demand, guiding decisions on quality, varieties, grading, and branding.
Strengthen food-supply resilience. Emergency supply mechanisms for “vegetable basket” products in 36 major cities, particularly Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, the Greater Bay Area, and Chengdu–Chongqing, backed by 5,000 entities.
Implications for foreign agri-business and trade partners
A more internationally connected system. Alignment with international trade rules, mutual recognition of certification, better use of free-trade zones, and integrated trade-service companies could lower transaction costs and make market access more predictable. However, this agenda is intended mainly to make Chinese products more competitive, not to facilitate imports.
Opportunities lie more in technology than in product exports. Expect demand for cold-chain and refrigeration equipment, automated warehousing, sensors and RFID, sorting and grading equipment, intelligent logistics, digital market platforms, supply-chain software, and AI-based demand forecasting. This creates substantial business-to-business (B2B) opportunities for suppliers in these fields.
Localization and partnerships gain importance. The emphasis on integrated domestic value chains suggests that exporting finished products or equipment will not be enough; partnerships with Chinese companies, localization, joint development, and local service networks become more important.
Better cold chains also help importers. A denser network could ease distribution of imported meat, dairy, seafood, fruit, and other perishables beyond the largest coastal cities, improving access to second- and third-tier cities and to inland and western regions.
Standards and certification become more important. Standardization makes operations more predictable and favors companies with strong food-safety, traceability, and quality-management systems, but exporters must follow Chinese certification, labeling, grading, and digital-data requirements closely.
Domestic competition intensifies. With premium brands rising from 320 to at least 500, Chinese companies increasingly compete on quality, branding, geographical indications, and digital marketing in dairy, meat, fruit, and processed foods. Foreign brands may be less able to rely on an “imported = premium” positioning.
E-commerce becomes a key route to market. With online sales targeted to exceed RMB 1 trillion by 2030, digital distribution grows in importance, especially for specialized products that cannot justify nationwide retail networks.
Indirect pressure on imports, but no import-reduction targets. The plan does not aim to reduce imports, but better logistics, information, processing, and branding could cut post-harvest losses and raise domestic competitiveness. The effect is likely smaller for commodities with structural supply deficits, such as soybeans.
A stronger export strategy. Certification cooperation, stronger brands, overseas warehouses, trade-service companies, and Belt and Road channels strengthen China’s export infrastructure, which could increase competition in third markets for vegetables, fruit, aquaculture products, processed foods, and tea.
Implication for Sino-German agricultural cooperation
Market opportunities are shifting from exporting finished products toward participation in China’s agricultural value chain. This favors technology cooperation, localization, joint development, and partnerships, particularly where German engineering, digital solutions, and services can support the modernization of China’s distribution system.
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