Last year saw 5.7 billion packages delivered through express services in China, prompting analysts to speculate over whether the country has surpassed Japan to become the world's second-largest market for express deliveries.

Ma Junsheng, director-general of the State Post Bureau of China, said on Thursday that China's postal industry made significant strides in 2012, with the domestic express industry earning 106 billion yuan ($17.02 billion) in revenue last year, a year-on-year increase of 40 percent.

Employees at an express-shipping distribution center in Jiangsu province prepare packages for delivery. China's express industry had 106 billion yuan ($17.02 billion) in revenue last year, a year-on-year increase of 40 percent. [Photo/China Daily]

The number of packages delivered in 2012 was up 55 percent from the previous year, Ma said, and he expects the figure to increase by 40 percent this year, hitting 8 billion.

Xu Yong, chief consultant with the express and logistics website www.cecss.com, said China has already emerged as the world's second-biggest market for express deliveries.

The website estimates Japan saw about 5.5 billion package deliveries in 2012, and the United States saw 7.5 billion.

"But China's express market is still in its initial stage of development," Xu said. "Compared with developed economies, China lags behind in the diversity and quality of its services."

The express market has grown so quickly because China has a large population and the government has put a lot of effort into stimulating domestic consumption, Xu said.

"Online shopping relies on express services," he said. "More young people are surfing the Internet and prefer to use e-commerce. This will inevitably prompt the development of the domestic express industry."

A report from the Boston Consulting Group has suggested that China is likely to surpass the United States to become the world's biggest online retail market in 2015, a year in which the country's online retail sales are expected to be worth more than $360 billion.

The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has taken to holding an annual "Singles' Day" promotion on Nov 11 every year. On the day last year, its two online shopping arms, Taobao.com and Tmall.com, recorded 19.1 billion yuan in sales.

But the surge in e-commerce transactions has resulted in difficulties for Chinese courier companies.

Da Wa, secretary-general of the China Express Service Association, said domestic demand for express services will far exceed the supply for at least the next five years.

Daniel Zhang, president of Tmall.com, said in an interview with China Daily last year that the combined number of packages ordered on peak days from Tmall.com and Taobao.com could even "exceed the total number of packages that Chinese courier firms can handle in a single day".

Ma at State Post Bureau said China is trying to build a modern postal industry.

"The revenue from the domestic express industry is expected to triple in 10 years by 2020," he said. "But we should first improve the quality of the service."

Contact the writer at shenjingting@chinadaily.com.cn