KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Pos Malaysia Bhd will have to revise its postage rates in tandem with the price increase by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) starting January 2020 to align its operation cost.
“Despite the challenges, Pos Malaysia will continue to serve the nation in providing postal services for all, leveraging on its vast delivery network coverage across the country,” it said in a note to Bernama today.
The UPU is a United Nations agency that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system.
Recently, the United States (US) has threatened to pull out from the UPU as it complained that the system allowed China to pay heavily subsidised rates as the system was designed to help developing nations.
The country claimed that it was cheaper for companies in China to send outbound items to the US compared to items sent domestically within the US.
In late September, the UPU held an extraordinary congress in Geneva, which resulted in a compromise which allowed the US to remain as a member of the UPU while being given the flexibility to self-declare its own rates.
According to media reports, the US will raise prices for packages arriving from other countries, in exchange for a contribution into the UPU’s “voluntary fund,” which covers security and pensions.
Other countries can also adjust prices on US inbound packages next July and on packages from elsewhere by set amounts each year. — Bernama
