Cost of a stamp will increase from 1 September

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication has signed legislation under which the prices of universal postal services will rise on 1 September. The forwarding costs of domestic standard letters will rise from 45 to 55 cents.

The increase in prices includes all universal postal services, which will rise by 18.2% on average. The prices will rise for both domestic and international letters and for parcels with a weight of up to 20 kg.

The last time the price of stamps changed was in November 2011. Since then the needs of customers have changed and communication possibilities have expanded, which has led to a reduction in the volume of letter services, although the demand for providing universal postal services has remained the same.

According to projections, by the end of 2014 the volume of stamped standard mail sent within Estonia will fall to 2.8 million items. This will mean a fall of 43% compared to the year 2011.
Although the increase in prices would reduce losses for universal postal services, we must nonetheless consider that according to predictions the universal postal services will still face losses of 2 million euro in the next year, even with the planned increase in the prices of stamps.

The price level will still be below the European average, even after the increase in prices. Finland recently increased the price for domestic letters by 20%, and the price of a stamp is 1 euro; the price for sending a letter in Sweden costs 69 cents; and in Latvia it is now 57 cents. Postage costs have increased in fourteen European countries within the year.

The increase in prices does not affect parcel machine prices, which will still remain the cheapest way to send parcels. It is possible to send parcels from a parcel machine to most European countries with pre-forms.

The company suggests using the e-service environment to send letters, where the cost of a domestic letter is 54-65 cents but also includes an envelope, paper and printing in addition to sending. It is possible to send both domestic and international letters, and unlike usual stamped letters, in the e-service environment the weight of the letter does not affect the price of sending it.