The number of parcels shipped from China to Kazakhstan has been growing monthly, prompting Chinese marketplaces to strengthen their partnerships with delivery services in Kazakhstan. To handle the influx of low-cost goods from China, local logistics providers are quickly ramping up their capacities.
The boom in Chinese e-commerce
According to QazPost, Kazakhstan’s national postal operator, in the first 10 months of 2024, the inbound parcel volume from China has increased by 67% year-on-year, rising from 2.7 million to 4.5 million parcels.
One key driver of this rapid growth is Temu, a Chinese marketplace that first went live in the U.S. in 2022. Temu quickly gained popularity among American consumers and expanded to countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It became available to Kazakhstani shoppers in March 2024 and now ranks as the most downloaded shopping app in Kazakhstan’s App Store.
Temu’s appeal lies in its direct relationships with suppliers in China, enabling it to offer competitive prices. The marketplace has also leveraged an aggressive marketing strategy when entering new markets. Kazakhstani users have noticed that Temu heavily promotes through social media, attracting new customers with gifts and steep discounts.
Special offers on Temu are often time-limited, encouraging new customers to make quick purchases. Temu is owned by PDD Holdings Inc., which also operates Pinduoduo, another major platform based in China. Although Pinduoduo primarily targets the Chinese market, its popularity in Kazakhstan has been rising steadily.
PDD Holdings reported a net profit of $60 billion for 2023, a 90% increase from 2022. Total revenue also rose 90%, reaching $247.64 billion. In early 2024, PDD Holdings’ market capitalization surpassed that of Alibaba Group (which includes AliExpress), making it the highest-valued Chinese e-commerce platform.
Other market players
AliExpress has been a staple on the Kazakhstani market for over a decade, alongside other Chinese marketplaces like Taobao, Tmall and 1688. However, the launch of Temu and Pinduoduo has led to a surge in parcel volume from China, with Kazakhstani logistics operators reporting a sharp increase. Social media videos capturing long lines at order pickup points underscore the growing demand.
«When Temu first entered the Kazakhstani market, the growth in parcel volume exceeded expectations,» said Anel Abdirova, head of international business development at QazPost.
«Queues formed at all Temu-operated locations in Kazakhstan, especially in the early months. For instance, parcel volume at QazPost quickly accelerated — from 100 parcels a day to 200, 300, and by the end of the week, some locations were receiving up to a thousand parcels.»
In response, QazPost had to optimize logistics on the fly, including implementing automated sorting and hiring additional staff at pickup points to ensure timely delivery for Temu and other partners.
For over 10 years, QazPost has been the main last-mile delivery operator for AliExpress, the first Chinese marketplace to gain popularity in Kazakhstan. However, Temu and Pinduoduo opted for a broader approach, partnering not only with QazPost but also with other operators such as Jana Post, NJJX, Tezber, YM Trans, Kimigo and ILine.
«Marketplaces employ various strategies: some work exclusively with a single operator, like QazPost, while others partner with multiple operators depending on their business development strategies. We recognize the advantages and drawbacks of each approach, but our focus remains on finding the best solutions for each client and maintaining high service quality,» Abdirova explained.
«We’re continuously seeking partners who can boost our efficiency and enhance customer satisfaction,» Temu’s press team stated in response to Kursiv.media’s inquiry about their cooperation with Kazakhstani logistics operators.
It appears Temu is still exploring delivery services capable of managing their volume, as not all providers have been fully prepared for the surge of low-cost shipments from China.
«Monthly parcel volume growth is around 30% to 40%. Last month, we processed between 500,000 and 600,000 orders; now, we’re handling around 700,000,» said Amirkhan Mukashev, CEO of Tezber, at the Central Asian Warehouse Summit held in October in Almaty. Tezber, which services the Temu and Pinduoduo marketplaces, delivers parcels to all cities and regions of Kazakhstan, issuing about 30,000 to 40,000 packages daily.
«We anticipate that the volume of goods from China will reach one million parcels daily within the next year. The demand is enormous and current logistics offerings are insufficient,» Mukashev noted.
He added that Tezber has significantly expanded its infrastructure over the past 10 months, operating more than 600 pickup locations across Kazakhstan. However, this capacity still falls short and the company actively seeks partners to grow its network further.
«We’re already at maximum capacity. Our transit warehouse currently spans only 8,000 square meters. We doubled the warehouse area just last month — from 4,000 to 8,000 square meters — but it’s already insufficient,» the speaker added. «We’re planning to build a 40,000-square-meter warehouse near Almaty airport to help manage the demand.»
Custom infrastructure challenges
At the Central Asian Warehouse Summit, experts noted that the total demand for logistics capacity in Kazakhstan is estimated to be between 2 and 2.8 million square meters. Meanwhile, the current warehouse space in the country stands at 1.4 million square meters, with only 578,000 square meters classified as Class A facilities. This supply falls far short of meeting demand, according to analysts from IBC Global and Colliers.
«Kazakhstan’s logistics market isn’t yet saturated, so during peak times, all players face certain challenges,» noted Abdirova of QazPost.
She added that QazPost’s established infrastructure gives it an advantage, enabling the company to process larger volumes and manage fluctuations in incoming packages more effectively.
To keep pace with demand, operators are aggressively expanding capacity. Tezber, for example, launched a franchise model and began partnerships with other providers. «We’re already collaborating with QazPost, using its branches to dispatch orders, and we also utilize around 70 Ozon pickup points for parcel distribution from Chinese marketplaces,» Mukashev said, adding that a partnership with Wildberries is also on the roadmap. He believes the move will help support marketplace franchisees by tapping into the volume of parcels from China.
In 2024, QazPost YTO Express — a joint venture between QazPost and YTO Express, one of China’s largest logistics firms — will start building a 60,000-square-meter warehouse. Designed as a logistics hub for Central Asia, this facility is expected to significantly increase Kazakhstan’s capacity for handling incoming shipments from China. The full launch of the warehouse is scheduled for 2026.
