Official calls for expansion of services to rural areas to aid agriculture sales

China's courier industry is expected to handle 74 billion parcels this year, according to the country's postal service regulator, an average of 52 deliveries per person.

The figure will represent an 18 percent year-on-year increase by the end of this year, Ma Junsheng, head of the State Post Bureau, said at its annual work conference on Monday, adding that revenues in the sector will reach about 866 billion yuan ($127 billion).

According to the bureau, over 63 billion parcels were delivered through express delivery last year, up 24 percent year-on-year. The sector raked in 745 billion yuan in revenues, surging 23 percent.

Ma also called for the expansion of delivery services to rural areas to boost the sales of agriculture products and promote poverty alleviation.

"In 2020, we will further upgrade the service by establishing delivery service outlets in every township across the country," he said.

China achieved the goal of covering all 556,000 administrative villages with direct postal services last year, one year ahead of schedule. Over 30,000 express delivery outlets have been set up in townships so far, covering over 96 percent of all such locales, according to the bureau.

He Ying, branch manager of JD Logistics in Huichang county, Jiangxi province, said that with the improved transportation infrastructure and easy access to delivery service between every township, farmers enjoy more convenient logistics than before.

The delivery service helps the farmers, most of whom make their living planting oranges and tangelos, reduce their logistics costs and avoid serious losses in the low season or in an uneven market, he added.

"But locals in dispersed villages still rely on township-level delivery service stations and had to drive long distances to pick up their goods," he said, "With the goal accomplished, it will help rural people make the best use of the service in a bid to further facilitate the transportation of local products and boost rural household consumption."

Ma also stressed that the country will step up efforts in strengthening the interconnection of the global postal network and promoting the development of international postal services this year with the focus on Southeast Asia.