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Photo: Monika Skolimowska / dpa
Consumers in Germany will face higher prices for letters and postcards.
As expected, 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.
However, this is lower than in the past.
The Post had already announced in October that it would raise prices for the mass product standard letter, among other things, by five cents to 85 cents from 2022.
The postcard should then cost 70 cents instead of the previous 60 cents.
The Bonn-based company can now implement this project.
Swiss Post's letter prices for private customers must be approved by the Federal Network Agency.
It 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.
Old letters must also be franked
Other types of mail such as the compact letter are also becoming more expensive; in future it will cost 1 euro instead of the previous 95 cents.
Swiss Post justifies the higher prices with higher costs with decreasing shipment volumes in the digital age.
However, the approval procedure for the postage increase has not yet been fully completed.
The Post now submits its fee application, which the regulatory authority then approves.
It is considered certain that the increase will come as planned by the Post.
The new domestic postage is valid for three years, i.e. from January 2022 to the end of 2024. Old postage stamps remain valid, but the items must also be franked.
mmq / Reuters / dpa