ANACOM - Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações has conducted a comparison of prices for postal services provided by universal service providers in the EU, concluding that compared to 2008, prices in the European Union have increased, with the largest increase reported for the non-priority national service up to 20 grams. In terms of Purchasing Power Parity, the increase seen in the average was lower than that reported in euros terms for all the services.
In Portugal, with respect to the services analyzed, the price of national parcels up to 2kg and of national priority mail up to 20g remained unchanged, while increases were seen for other services, although less than the increases seen in the average prices of services in the EU. This has lead to an improvement in the position of prices in Portugal compared to other EU countries. In comparison to prices in the EU and in line with 2008, with the exception of non-priority cross-border intra-community mail up to twenty grams, prices in Euros remain below the EU average. When analyzed from the perspective of PPP, it can be seen, with the exception of non-priority cross-border intra-community mail and priority national mail up to twenty grams, that prices are lower than the EU average. Therefore, for each of the following services, with prices based on exchange rates, it is concluded:
- Priority national mail up to 20g: In 2009, the price in Portugal is 3% below the EU average (excluding Portugal), while in 2008 it was in line with the average. In the EU, compared to 2008, the average price in euros increased by about 2%. The price in Portugal remained unchanged, contributing to a slight increase in the already negative deviation from the average.
- Non-priority national mail up to 20g: The price in Portugal is 28% below the EU average (excluding Portugal). In 2008 this figure was 27%. In relation to 2008 the average price in the EU increased about 5% in 2009. The price in Portugal increased by 3%, thereby contributing to a widening of the already negative deviation from the EU average. It should be noted that this service exists in only fifteen EU countries, although it has significant importance in terms of national mail in these countries, as is the case of Portugal;
- Cross-border intra-community priority mail up to 20g: The price of using this service in Portugal is 6% below the EU average, in line with 2008. In 2009 the average price increased by 2% over 2008. The price in Portugal increased by 1%, thereby adding to the already negative deviation from the EU average;
- Non-priority cross-border intra-community mail up to 20g: The price in Portugal is about 5% above the average in the EU27 (excluding Portugal), while in 2008 this figure was 6%. In the EU and in relation to 2008, the average price decreased by 3%, due mainly to a substantial devaluation of the Polish currency. The price in Portugal increased by 2% leading to a reduction in the positive deviation from the EU average. It should be noted that this service exists in only seventeen of the twenty-seven EU countries;
- National parcels up to 2kg: The price in Portugal is below the average of the EU27 (excluding Portugal), with a deviation of around 16%. In 2008, this figure was around 14%. In the EU and in relation to 2008, the average price increased by around 2%. The price in Portugal remained unchanged, thereby adding to the already negative deviation from the EU average;
In the subset of the 15 countries that joined the European Union up to 1995 (EU15) it can be seen that in the services subject to analysis, the increase exceeded the average for the EU27, with the exception of the national non-priority service. In PPP terms, the increase in the average in all services was higher than that seen in the EU27. In Portugal, prices in Euros are, in all the services examined, below the EU15 average. In a comparison using PPP, prices in Portugal are below the national average in non-priority national correspondence and parcels and above the average for other services. These results coincide with those obtained in 2008.
The study also compares prices between member states that have fully liberalized postal services and those where only a few services have been liberalized, to gauge the extent to which prices have been impacted by the liberalization or the opening up of services to competition. This comparison shows that, with the exception of the national non-priority mail where the averages are nearly identical, the average prices of liberalised services is higher than those of services provided on an exclusive basis. However, the difference is not statistically significant, other than in the case of parcels where the average for the seven countries that have liberalized is €6.5 and is €3.97 for the countries that have not liberalized.
Consult:
- Study ''Comparisons of prices of universal postal service providers in the European Union in 2009'' https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=997559
