Thailand Post increases rates, pilots 24-hour delivery services

The good news is that Thailand Post will begin 24-hour delivery services, but the bad news is that mail rates have gone up. The new round-the-clock delivery and pick-up service will begin as a pilot project from Thailand Post’s main sorting facility in Chaeng Wattana servicing Laksi, Pak Kret, and Ram Inthra areas. The rate hike is the first in 18 years.

The general manager of Thailand Post said that online shopping has become such a major part of modern life that sellers and customers will greatly benefit from the increased mail services. They also commented that the huge increase in e-commerce is a significant benefit for retailers and Thailand’s overall economy.

The manager said that having their pickup service shift to 24 hours is what’s to be expected for a national service that intends to promote the economy and e-commerce. For further information and details about the new pilot programme for 24-hour delivery, customers are requested to call 022-982-8222.

Meanwhile, for the first time in 18 years, the Thailand Post has raised prices for domestic deliveries of packages and letters. The organization released a statement explaining that increasing prices was a necessity due to the current economic situation in the country where the inflation rate has soared to a 14-year high.

The cabinet has already approved the rate increase and they have gone into effect. The increase only applies to heavier letters and parcels, and the standard delivery rate of 3 baht for regular letters weighing a maximum of 10 grammes will remain in place at least until the end of 2024.

Heavier packages will see rate increases though, with the maximum weight level of between 1 and 2 kilogrammes jumping up to 55 baht, a 22% increase over previous domestic mail rates. Thailand Post will also use this transition as a chance to bring the country’s parcel guidelines in line with the Universal Postal Union, an organization run by the United Nations and designed to create international cooperation for postal services worldwide.

In Thailand, the Consumer Price Index last month experienced the sharpest increase since July 2008, with a 7.7% jump. The Monetary Policy Committee will meet next month and will consider tightening policies by the Bank of Thailand to bring stricter control to price gains, a move happening around the world now.

The rate hike may help rein in the losses that Thailand Post has been suffering for over a decade. In the 10-year span between 2011 and 2021, the post was mired with 18.4 billion baht of losses.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post & ASEAN Now