Status: 11/23/2021 12:30 p.m.
The Federal Network Agency allows Deutsche Post to increase the postage for postcards and standard letters. During the Christmas season, however, the old prices still apply.
Consumers in Germany will face higher prices for letters and postcards. The Federal Network Agency granted Deutsche Post a leeway of 4.6 percent to increase its prices from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024. The new domestic postage will therefore be valid for three years.
On the basis of the specification, Deutsche Post is allowed to increase the price of the shopping cart for all regulated letters. According to the Federal Network Agency, this would include, for example, standard, compact, large, maxi letters, postcards (national and international) as well as additional services such as registered mail, cash on delivery and value dispatch.
“Falling shipment volumes in the digital age”
The Post had already announced in October that it would raise prices, among other things, for the mass product standard letter by five cents to 85 cents from 2022. The postcard will then cost 70 cents instead of the previous 60 cents. The Bonn-based group can now implement this increase thanks to the approval of the regulators. Swiss Post justifies the higher prices with higher costs with decreasing shipment volumes in the digital age. Old postage stamps remain valid, but they have to be franked additionally.
The current premium is 4.6 percent lower than previous increases. In 2019, the last increase, the value was 8.9 percent. At that time, the logistics group had increased the postage for a standard letter by ten cents to 80 cents. Before that, the price for the mass product standard letter was increased from 62 to 70 cents for three years at the beginning of 2016.
Post still has a monopoly
Swiss Post’s letter prices for private customers must be approved by the Federal Network Agency. She is reviewing postage increases because the former state monopoly still has a dominant position on the mail market. The Bonn-based company is the only company in Germany that ensures that the population is supplied with letters to remote corners of the republic. Competitors concentrate primarily on the lucrative business in metropolitan areas and with corporate customers.
The approval procedure for postage increases has not yet been fully completed. Swiss Post still has to submit a fee application, which the regulatory authority then approves. It is considered certain that the increase will come as planned by the Post.