(Yicai Global) April 28 -- Express delivery in China has become more expensive when sending parcels within the same city rather than between different cities for the first time amid intensifying competition.

Packages traveling within the same city cost consumers CNY6.4 (USD1) on average in the first quarter, down by 9.2 percent from a year ago, according to data China's State Post Bureau released yesterday.

But prices of orders between different cities fell more at nearly 23 percent to CNY6.1 during the same period.

Only offshore prices kept on climbing. Delivery to foreign countries, or the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao SAR, or Taiwan province, got 2.4 percent more expensive at CNY53.7 (USD8.30).

Game-Changer: Community Group Buying

Group-buying platforms and instant delivery services are changing the courier business and introducing fierce competition between leading service providers, the bureau explained. Meituan Select and Pinduoduo are some examples of e-commerce platforms that offer lower prices with bulk purchases.

The domestic market is teeming with new rivals. The top eight courier firms seized an 80.5 percent market share as of late March, down from the 85.9 percent logged a year ago, according to the government agency.

Delivery volumes are also increasing. The number of parcels rose 75 percent to 21.9 billion units in the first quarter from a year ago because of the low base of last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and this year's Spring Festival holiday that was marked by e-commerce platforms' promotions and many consumers' reluctance to travel amid the lingering fears of new outbreaks. Logistics revenues surged by 46 percent to CNY223.8 billion (USD34.5 billion).

The demand was also rising overseas. The number of parcels sent abroad, as well as to Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, or Taiwan, jumped by 67 percent to 530 million units in the first quarter. Revenues soared by more than 71 percent to CNY28.7 billion.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi