E-commerce development accelerates, Kazakhstan promotes digital transformation of trade

Astana, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The official website of the Presidential Office of Kazakhstan announced on the 18th that with the acceleration of e-commerce development, Kazakhstan is promoting the digital transformation of trade.

It is reported that on the same day, Kazakhstan President Tokayev listened to a report from Kazakhstan's Minister of Trade and Integration, Zakariev, on the development of the trade sector.

Shakariev stated that trade remains one of the important forces driving Kazakhstan's economic development, accounting for approximately 19% of the country's gross domestic product by 2025. By 2025, the investment in the trade sector will reach 1.2 trillion tenge (approximately 2.5 billion US dollars), and the total circulation of goods will increase by 8.9% year-on-year.

Among them, e-commerce in Kazakhstan is showing an accelerated development trend. Shakariev stated that by 2025, the country's e-commerce transaction volume will reach 3.9 trillion tenge (approximately 8.1 billion US dollars), accounting for 15% of the total retail commodity circulation. To further promote the development of e-commerce, Kazakhstan has built 10 logistics centers and constructed large-scale warehousing and distribution centers in the capital Astana and the largest city Almaty to improve the efficiency of commodity warehousing and distribution.

At the same time, Kazakhstan is promoting the construction of digital trade related systems, by improving the commodity classification system and national commodity catalog, expanding the scope of commodity labeling, enhancing market transparency, promoting domestic product sales, and driving export growth.

In terms of foreign trade, the government of Kazakhstan continues to increase its support for exports. Shakariev pointed out that the country's exports of non resource goods and services will continue to grow in 2025. Meanwhile, in terms of regional economic and trade cooperation, the trade environment within the Eurasian Economic Union continues to improve. Through relevant negotiations, Kazakhstan has made progress in certain aspects such as import quotas for certain goods and exemption from anti-dumping tariffs.

Tokayev demanded that relevant departments continue to promote the digital development of trade, optimize and upgrade trade structure, further enhance export capacity, and strengthen consumer rights protection.