Jersey Post announces changes to its postal tariffs

Jersey Post will be changing its postal rates from 1 January 2023. The changes will see a below inflation rise in the cost of local letters and a continuing subsidised cost of sending to the UK, Isle of Man, and other Channel Islands.

The new stamp prices are summarised below:

The price changes reflect the internal and external cost pressures Jersey Post continues to face, including:

Outbound mail decline – Jersey Post has seen a 13% decline in outbound mail volume so far this year, which is steeper than predicted and this downward trend is forecast to increase in 2023.

Increased operating costs – whilst outbound mail declines, Jersey Post’s operating costs remain high. Off-island delivery costs, including transit conveyance costs, have increased significantly. The current economic climate and fuel pricing mean that air conveyance costs and surcharges have tripled in the past two years. In addition, from 1 January, the postal charges levied on Jersey Post by Royal Mail and other postal authorities will increase substantially.

Continued investment – the international trading landscape has changed significantly over the last couple of years. New legislation from the United States and Europe has this year seen the introduction of pre-advice customs data for UK items (as well as for international items introduced in 2021), which requires continued investment into new processes, customer systems and facilities.

Niall McClure, Managing Director, Postal and Logistics, said: “Due to the current economic climate, the postal sector as a whole is experiencing a number of challenges, some of which have already been highlighted above. One significant challenge for us in Jersey is the high cost of the mail plane. Using the plane allows for next day delivery for certain postal products to and from the UK. However, to operate the mail plane costs approximately £1.23 per item in conveyance charges. Historically, we have subsidised the cost of sending mail by air. Where we can, we have tried to minimise the costs next year to the end customer. For one of our most popular routes, the 100g letter to the UK, we are absorbing some of the cost by only charging 98p. In addition, we have held the local 2023 price changes in line with June’s RPI which was 7.9%. The latest RPI figure as of September is 10.4%.”

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 a discounted postage rate.

Details of the 2023 postage price changes can be found here.