Tonga Post Office stuck with higher postal rates [1]
Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 17:57. Updated on Saturday, May 3, 2014 - 18:08.
The Tonga Post Office, which is set to be corporatised in July, has recently doubled its airmail parcel rates and introduced a special high rate for parcels on the busiest section between Tonga and New Zealand.
People who want to send parcels overseas, have to use the new airmail rates, introduced in December last year, which have more than doubled the cost of sending airmail parcels from Tonga.
The surface mail service was suspended in October of 2001, and businesses that export their handicrafts and books were hopeful it might be reintroduced, because a surface mail rate was included in the new rates that were recently gazetted.
According to Pelenatitia Kara, the Acting Deputy Commissioner for the Post Office, the reason why they suspended the surface mail was because Tongan surface mail was routed through New Zealand, which no longer offered onward surface mail routes. Therefore the Tonga Post Office could not afford to pay the charges billed to them from New Zealand when Tonga's surface mail was airlifted from there to its final destination.
Pelenatita said the further the distance the more costlier is for the Post Office to further convey the mail, and it was even harder now with New Zealand increasing their rates by 10 percent and United Kingdom by 40 percent.
So in December 2004 the Tonga Post office increased its postal rates.
"We just cannot compete with these giant postal unions overseas because our rate is just too poor and we do not have the many alternatives they have," she said.
Pelenatita said that they were talking with Forum Shipping in the hope of offering surface mail because they are the only shipping agency in Tonga that takes mail on board and they have the advantage of stopping at every International port.
However, Pelenatita said it will still be difficult to introduce because the Post Office rates were listed at $6.75 per kilo surface mail, and to her understanding Forum Shipping have a fix ed rate of $47 pa...anga per item.
"So we have to find a way to make up for that difference whether it is charging the customer on that price because Forum Shipping will be charging us", she said.
Pelenatita said that this was being explored as an alternative for their customers, but then for some destinations it was still cheaper to send with the Post office airmail.
The business affected by the higher airmail rates, include Tonga's handicraft suppliers and booksellers, with airmail now costing $61 per kilo to Europe and $32 per kilo to New Zealand.
Pelenatita said that one thing to remember was that the Post Office is set to be corporatised in July and if that is going to happen they are not going to get any more money from Government.
"We will become a business entity and it will be either sinking or swimming that is the choice," she said.