Jersey Post will be amending its postal rates from 8 January 2024.
The changes will see an average increase of 8.6% in local and UK tariffs whilst maintaining a price freeze on 100g local and UK letter formats.
The new stamp prices are summarised below:
| Service | 2023 Price | 2024 Price |
|---|---|---|
| Local Letter (100g) | 60p | 60p |
| UK. IoM and other CI Letter (100g) | 98p | 98p |
| European Letter (100g) | £1.85 | £2.15 |
| Rest of the World Letter (100g) | £2.55 | £2.95 |
The price changes reflect the internal and external cost pressures Jersey Post continues to face, including:
- Outbound mail decline – this continues to decline year on year at a steady pace, which brings a decline in income, impacting Jersey Post’s profitability. This downward trend continues into 2024, with a forecast of c.13% predicted for outbound mail.
- Increased operating costs – whilst outbound mail declines, Jersey Post’s operating costs remain high. Ongoing geo-political pressures have increased the cost of fuel and therefore freight transportation costs and these costs are passed on to Jersey Post. In addition, from 2 January, the postal charges levied on Jersey Post by Royal Mail and other European and Worldwide postal authorities are set to significantly increase.
- Continued investment – handling costs for processing and delivering mail remain high, particularly for parcel mail where additional cost is incurred through additional processes including provision of electronic pre-advice customers data for destination countries.
Julie Thomas, Managing Director of Postal and Logistics, said: “Our annual price changes try to combat some of the challenges we face as a business in a declining market. Despite this, we are still committed to minimising the impact on our customers and, therefore, have taken the decision not to increase 100g letter formats locally and to the UK. In 2021, local mail pricing was held to support Islanders during the pandemic.
“In 2022, we only increased prices by 3.5% and last year by 7.9%. This year, there is an 8.6% increase, which is driven by our increased cost base but still below the current inflation rate of 10.1%.”
There are no price changes to Jersey Post’s premium postage services, and business customers and those using the online postage portal continue to benefit from discounted postage rates.
