Ukrposhta and Temu marketplace become strategic partners
10 January 12:22
Ukrainian postal operator Ukrposhta is launching a strategic partnership with Chinese marketplace Temu. This was announced by Ihor Smelyansky, CEO of Ukrposhta, according to Komersant ukrainskyi.
He said that after a pilot project, during which Ukrposhta delivered more than 1.5 million parcels from the well-known Chinese marketplace Temu – and not just delivered, but also cleared customs – it was decided to announce the start of a strategic partnership.
Thus, in Q1 2025, Ukrposhta plans to open a new automated international parcel processing center, and sets a goal of delivering more than 90% of parcels within 1-2 days of crossing the Ukrainian border.
“I am sure that many of our customers will like it. Moreover, very soon all shipments will be able to be tracked in a new mobile application,” emphasized Igor Smelyansky.
He reminded that Ukrposhta is the market leader not only in the export parcels segment, where its share is plus 50%, but also in the delivery of parcels from China. Ukrposhta takes on more than 60% of such shipments, noted Ihor Smelyansky.
How many parcels arrive in Ukraine and where they come from
The number of international parcels to Ukraine in the three quarters of 2024 exceeded 53 million pieces worth UAH 44.6 billion. In total, this is 46% more than in all of 2023. According to Forbes, this data was cited by the Institute for Social and Economic Transformation, a research NGO, citing information from the Ministry of Finance.
In 2024, parcels from Chinese Internet resources accounted for the largest share of all international shipments. 43% of all shipments came from AliExpress, 22.46% from Cainiao.
The volume of international parcels coming from the Chinese marketplace Temu grew the fastest: in 2023, its share in the Ukrainian market was less than 0.01%, and in the first nine months of 2024, it reached 12.23%.
What we know about Temu
This marketplace is part of the Chinese group PDD Holdings, founded by Colin Huang in 2015. The company launched the Temu budget shopping site in September 2022. The marketplace is characterized by aggressive marketing, large discounts for new customers, and the addition of a game element to the shopping process. Since its launch in Ukraine in March 2024, Temu has offered a range of products in more than 200 categories, from household goods to electronics.
Last fall, the European Commission announced the launch of an investigation into the marketplace. The European Commission suspects that the company is violating the new Digital Services Act aimed at eradicating illegal content and misinformation on the Internet. The Commission also expressed concern that potentially dangerous products may be sold on the platform and that the company is not doing enough to control fraudulent traders. As Bloomberg reported, if a violation is found, Temu could receive a fine of up to 6% of annual revenue. At the time, a representative of the marketplace said that the company would fully cooperate with regulators and constantly take care of protecting the interests of consumers on its platform.
