As reported by the American Philatelic Society:
"The state postal service of Denmark, PostNord, has announced it will cease handling letters in Denmark at the end of 2025 "to focus on becoming the Danes’ favorite parcel delivery service." The cut in service is tied to a reported 90% decline in letter volumes since 2000.Postnord has also announced that any postage stamps bought in 2024 or after could be refunded for a limited time in 2026, presumably marking the end of the country's stamp issues.Denmark's Transport Minister, Thomas Danielsen, told Danes concerned about the future of their mail that "a free market" would ensure they could still send letters, just not through a national postal service...An increase in use of digitial communication is largely cited as the reason for the decline in number of letters sent in the country. However, Denmark's Postal Act of 2024 also allowed private firms to enter the postal arena, and inland letters are no longer exempt from value-added tax, or VAT, meaning that a letter cost Danes 29 krone ($4.20) to send...Exceptions were previously made for populations in remote areas and with vision impairment, but PostNord's statement does not suggest that will be the case again. The statement also does not directly say whether letters can be sent from other countries to Denmark; however, at this time we can only infer that international letters will not be accepted or distributed..."
Seems like everyone will just include a letter in a parcel.
ReplyDeleteThis a constant topic here on Finland as well, letter delivery is mandated by law to Posti but the amounts have been dropping about 20% every year making each letter fabulously expensive for the company. They would like to switch to more inexpensive solutions like pickups from delivery centers or weekly service but they are squeezed by requirements by the law and the nature of the remaining letters, which tend to be of the time sensitive official letter sort.
ReplyDeleteI bet the officials are following the development in Denmark with a close eye.
It's also a topic of discussion in the U.S., where postal rates are remarkably cheap (compared to Europe). If the system were taken private, there would be an opportunity for the new owner to make enormous profits from what would essentially be a monopoly.
Delete€1.65 in Ireland for a stamp but it's actually larger than Denmark with nearly half the population density, so that seems like a bargain. UK costs £1.55/£0.87 for 1st or 2nd class stamp (good ole UK keeping the class struggle alive in stamps).
ReplyDeleteI haven't had an actual personal letter for years but still get the occasional official one.
What's going to happen with Xmas cards?
In Canada, a 30g letter stamp is $1.44 for a single stamp or $1.24/stamp in a booklet. Sending a letter to the USA is $1.75. An international letter is $3.65
ReplyDeleteAmericans really don't know how good we have it with USPS. Most efficient, effective, and inexpensive of any country I know of, including Germany.
ReplyDelete