BEIJING — China's central State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have been urged to help clear stockpiles of farm products from poverty-stricken areas.

So far this year, China's central SOEs have purchased or helped sell agricultural products worth 927 million yuan (about $131 million) for regions under the poverty line, said the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

The commission will seek to increase the value of farm products that central SOEs purchase or help sell by over 50 percent from last year, it said.

The central SOEs have utilized both offline and online channels to clear the stockpiles, purchasing 145 million yuan worth of farm products from Hubei province, once hard-hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, and setting up online stores for over 1,500 types of products.

On top of farm product sales, the central SOEs have invested 2.33 billion yuan to support virus-hit business activities in 246 poor counties by the end of April, 73 percent of the total fund planned for the year.

China has targeted eradicating absolute poverty in 2020. By the end of last year, there were still over 5.5 million people living under the poverty line across the country.