While PostNL delivered more packages, the number of letters sent by post continued to decline. That is why the company will increase the price of the stamp. The last time the price went up was on January 1 this year.
New price stamp
Earlier this year, the price of a stamp rose from €1.01 to €1.09. Now the price will increase by 5 cents as of July 1. This brings the new price to €1.14. This means that from July a stamp will be 13 cents more expensive than last year. Sending letters abroad will also become 5 cents more expensive. From July, a basic rate of €1.80 will apply instead of €1.75.
High costs for PostNL
PostNL is increasing postage stamp prices because the company is not doing well. The amount of mail that the company processed in the first months of this year was even more than 12 percent lower than in the same period in 2023. At the same time, PostNL is also faced with rising costs. That is why the company is increasing the rates for sending mail from July.
“We don’t like having to confront consumers with this interim rate change,” Maurice Unck, Mail Director at PostNL, explains to ANP. “However, it is necessary because we still deliver the mail five days a week, but there is much less mail and the costs are increasing.”
Deliver less mail
The postal company has been aware of the fact that we are sending fewer letters in the Netherlands for a long time. As a solution, PostNL came up with the idea of amending the postal law. Instead of delivering letters five times a week, two to three times a week would better suit the needs of consumers, CEO Herna Verhagen, chairman of PostNL, said in February.
Since this proposal, the necessary discussions have taken place with various parties. “With customers, unions, politicians, the ministry. But ultimately it is the Minister of Economic Affairs who must take the lead in this process,” says the chairman.
Send cheaper tickets
For those who like to continue sending cards, it may be useful to stock up on some extra stamps now. Even though stamp prices are rising, many stamps remain valid. You can still use stamps within the categories ‘Netherlands 1 and 2’, ‘Europe 1 and 2’ and ‘World 1’ after July 1. And according to PostNL, you don’t have to add any stamps either.
