SINGAPORE – Singapore Post will raise rates for all regular domestic mail by 10 cents from Jan 1, amid declining mail volume, escalating costs and its modernisation efforts.
The new rate for standard regular mail and standard large mail will be $0.62 and $0.90 respectively, SingPost said in a release on Dec 9.
Rates of domestic bulk mail used by businesses will also increase.
The change in postage rates will enable SingPost to continue to invest in modernisation efforts to improve customer experience and operational efficiency, it said.
It added its efforts in the last 12 months to improve service quality and efficiency included enhancing its e-commerce capabilities and expanding its service touchpoints.
SingPost said that the increase in postage rates is also aimed at addressing the “persistent structural decline” in mail volume and escalating operational costs.
It added that mail volumes in Singapore have fallen by over 40 per cent since the financial year 2019/2020.
The revised rates also come amid a shift to digital communications which has left postal service providers having to balance rising costs to provide the service against the postage collected, SingPost said. These costs include labour, energy, and infrastructure costs.
Chief executive officer Mark Chong said the price increase is a “necessary step” to balance the structural cost of domestic mail operations while providing customers with reliable services.
“It will enable us to continue fulfilling our national postal mandate while advancing Singapore Post’s transformation into a technology-driven logistics leader,” he said.
Rates for postage, package delivery and doorstep parcel delivery
were last increased in 2023
because of the increase in goods and services tax.
Before 2023, SingPost’s postage rates had not been adjusted since 2014.
SingPost’s
group operating profit
for the first quarter that ended June 30 came in at $3.4 million, a 60 per cent year-on-year drop from $8.4 million.
The decrease in operating profit comes on the back of increased market pressure and competition.