Agricultural products valued at 170 million yuan ($25.3 million) that have been difficult to sell recently due to the novel coronavirus outbreak have been sold in Taizhou over the course of six days, according to local media reports.

This was made possible by a series of measures rolled out by local authorities to help local agricultural enterprises deal with difficulties caused by the epidemic.

The local government set up a platform on Feb 10 that allows local farmers and agricultural production bodies such as cooperatives to directly contact purchasers, such as supermarkets, vegetable wholesale markets, and logistics enterprises.

Since its launch, the platform has released more than 700 pieces of information and reported 170 million yuan in deals related to agricultural products, including 7,949 tons of leafy vegetables and 248 tons of eggs and poultry.

In addition, the city has tried to boost sales by selling agricultural products online and introducing a "contactless delivery" service.

The local government has also opened green channels to help transport agricultural products. People can apply for transportation permits either on the Zheliban app or at highway checkpoints, thanks to support from the departments of transportation and public security.

As of Feb 16, the city had issued a total of 2,880 transportation permits for agricultural production and business entities.

People can also call the hotline -12345 to ask questions related to transportation, according to Chen Youxia, a local traffic cop.