The impact of the digital economy on the forest food industry: Mechanisms and evidence from China

Digitalization is reshaping the organization of market, yet rigorous evidence on its contribution to advancing sustainability in resource-based industries remains limited. This study examines the impact of the digital economy on China’s forest food industry using a balanced provincial panel 31 provinces, 2011–2022. We estimate panel econometric models with province and year controls to identify the average effect of digitalization and then test mechanisms and heterogeneity. The results demonstrate that digitalization significantly increases forest food output. Mechanism analysis indicates that enhanced marketization and the expansion of e-commerce platforms are the principal channels: digital platform intermediation reduces search and matching frictions, alleviates information asymmetry, broadens market reach, and improves resource allocation, thereby fostering structural upgrading and greener value chains. The effects are more pronounced in resource-constrained and non-grain-producing regions, suggesting that digital tools help overcome structural barriers and promote more balanced regional development. By providing sector-specific, multi-year evidence from a nature-based industry, these findings contribute to research on sustainability and digital transformation. Beyond their academic contributions, the results carry actionable policy implications: investing in inclusive digital infrastructure, improving platform governance and data interoperability, and building digital capabilities across the value chain to align innovation with the Sustainable Development Goals. Overall, the study demonstrates the digital economy’s potential to translate into tangible sustainability and growth outcomes in traditional, resource-dependent sectors. • Investigates how the digital economy shapes the development of China’s forest food industry using panel data from 31 provinces (2011–2022). • Provides robust empirical evidence that digitalization significantly promotes industry growth and sustainability. • Identifies marketization and e-commerce platforms as the key mechanisms linking digital transformation to industry upgrading and greener value chains. • Reveals substantial regional heterogeneity, with stronger positive effects in resource-constrained and non-grain-producing areas. • Offers policy implications on investing in digital infrastructure, enhancing platform governance, and improving digital literacy to align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).