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A pearl is extracted from a clam in Shanxiahu town, Zhuji, a county-level city in Shaoxing. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The pearl industry in Shaoxing, East China has seen robust growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic because of the use of livestreaming sales.

The price of pearls started to rise last year due to the increasing popularity of pearls. Local pearl dealers have attributed this to livestreaming e-commerce.

Chen Luoyong, a staff member of the East China International Pearl and Jewelry City, a shopping complex in Shaoxing, said that the number of daily pearl orders received by the complex has risen to more than 10,000 from between 1,000 and 2,000 since livestreaming sales commenced last May.

Chen revealed that he never expected such a good response, saying that the complex once received more than 30,000 business orders in one single day.

He Yongjiang, the shopkeeper of a pearl wholesale shop, said that the price of pearls has increased by up to 30 percent owing to the popularity of livestreaming.

Shanxiahu town is renowned as China's largest pearl production and trade center. In 2020, the pearl trade volume in the town was 750 tons. Almost every household in the town is engaged in cultivating clams or polishing pearls.