Postal rates set to rise by up to 46 per cent

By ELEANOR BLACK

Cost-conscious householders just getting over the expense of sending Christmas presents overseas are in for more lasting sticker shock.

New Zealand Post will raise the price of sending international parcels by up to 46 per cent on New Year's Day, a pricing table the Herald has obtained shows.

Letter postage is also on its way up, from $1.10 to $1.50 for a medium-sized letter bound for Australia or the South Pacific and from $1.80 to $2 for a standard letter to anywhere else in the world.

NZ Post franchisees were notified of the price hike about two weeks ago and some customers have already said they will look elsewhere for cheaper service.

Auckland-based sheepskin exporter Grant Barlow said he could send a 10kg parcel to clients in the United States or Japan for $140 using the international courier DHL and be guaranteed it would arrive within five days.

As of January 1, NZ Post will send the same package for $131 but it will take three weeks to arrive.

While the biggest price leaps apply to large packages - sending a 20kg parcel to East Asia or North America via economy service will rise nearly 50 per cent, from $151.73 to $222.08 - families sending smaller doses of cheer to their loved ones overseas will also feel the pinch.

Postage for a 1kg parcel of family holiday pictures bound for the US will go from $15.84 to $21.91, a 38 per cent price hike.

A 10kg package of warm winter clothing for young relatives living in London will cost $142.44 to send, up from $111.49.

Even a 100g parcel of sweets heading across the Tasman, which now costs $3.38 to send, will rise to $4.

Some prices will fall. Extra-large letters sent by air to Greenland, for instance, will drop from $7 to $5.

NZ Post spokeswoman Suzanne Stephenson said the new prices took into account higher fees set by the Universal Postal Union, which decides on charges between postal administrations.

The low kiwi dollar and increased freight charges by international airlines had also taken a toll, she said.

NZ Post could no longer afford to absorb these costs - but New Zealanders would still get good service for considerably less expense than their counterparts in Britain.

Sending a 300g parcel from New Zealand to Britain would cost $10.74, said Ms Stephenson, while sending it from Britain to here would cost the equivalent of $22.67.