It's about to get more expensive to send letters in Sweden
Sending letters both within and from Sweden is about to get more expensive, with the falling volume of mail sent in the country pushing up stamp costs.
The price rise is set to come into effect from January 1st, 2020.
The stamp cost for a letter of up to 50 grams will rise from 9 to 11 kronor (approximately $1.12), while stamps for letters posted overseas will rise from 21 to 22 kronor.
Swedish post operator Postnord said the changes were due to a fall in the number of letters being sent.
"Swedish social development is strongly affected by digitalization. Since the turn of the millennium, over half of physical letters have switched to digital communication, and there is no evidence that the reduction in volume will stop," said Postnord Sweden CEO Annemarie Gardshol.
"Unlike postal operators in many other European countries, we do not receive any state support for the postal service and when mail volumes fall, we need to offset our increased costs per letter," Gardshol added.
A one-krona increase in postage costs was first requested by Postnord early this year, after it saw the greatest ever reduction in letter volumes during the second half of 2018. In 2019, Postnord anticipates a fall in letter volumes of more than ten percent.
As a result, a new Postal Ordinance was passed which came into force on August 1st this year, giving the company the chance to increase its postage costs.
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The price rise is set to come into effect from January 1st, 2020.
The stamp cost for a letter of up to 50 grams will rise from 9 to 11 kronor (approximately $1.12), while stamps for letters posted overseas will rise from 21 to 22 kronor.
Swedish post operator Postnord said the changes were due to a fall in the number of letters being sent.
"Swedish social development is strongly affected by digitalization. Since the turn of the millennium, over half of physical letters have switched to digital communication, and there is no evidence that the reduction in volume will stop," said Postnord Sweden CEO Annemarie Gardshol.
"Unlike postal operators in many other European countries, we do not receive any state support for the postal service and when mail volumes fall, we need to offset our increased costs per letter," Gardshol added.
A one-krona increase in postage costs was first requested by Postnord early this year, after it saw the greatest ever reduction in letter volumes during the second half of 2018. In 2019, Postnord anticipates a fall in letter volumes of more than ten percent.
As a result, a new Postal Ordinance was passed which came into force on August 1st this year, giving the company the chance to increase its postage costs.
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