E-Commerce in the Organic Food Sector: A Comparative Study of Ukraine and China

Whether digital market access translates into retained farm income remains insufficiently resolved by studies of adoption and purchase intentions. Drawing on the resource-based view and transaction cost economics, this study examines revenue and profitability in a non-probability telephone survey sample of 186 farms: 74 in Ukraine and 112 in China, including 175 farms reporting organic certification and 11 uncertified comparison farms. Welch’s tests, country-specific OLS regressions with HC3 standard errors, and moderation analysis distinguish unadjusted sample contrasts from within-country associations. Mean monthly online revenue is higher in the Chinese sample (USD 12,878.30 versus USD 4237.30), whereas reported return on sales (ROS) is higher in the Ukrainian sample (30.85% versus 17.72%). The ROS gap is 13.13 percentage points (95% confidence interval: 11.43–14.83). Marketing estimates lack robust positive support, and primary tests do not establish video moderation or differences in ROS between platform groups at the 5% level. Outcomes cover all online activity, not platform-specific accounts. The contribution is an empirical distinction between sales scale and margin retention across contrasting producer settings. Instagram and WeChat cases translate this distinction into proposals for channel-cost accounting and controlled marketing trials. Findings concern participating farms rather than national populations or causal country effects.