SINGAPORE — From Oct 9, it will cost 51 cents to post a letter or greeting card within Singapore, up from the current 31 cents — a 64.5 per cent rise.

In a press release on Tuesday (Sept 19), Singapore Post (SingPost) said that the postage rate increase for standard regular mail is due to the "escalating costs" of maintaining the postal service and declining mail volume. 

To help people manage the rise, SingPost will issue a stamp booklet comprising 10 stamps for domestic mail to each household, starting end-October.

The company added that it will also simplify the domestic postage rate structure, such as by eliminating the weight criteria of mail to make postal services more user-friendly.

The last significant rate increase was nine years ago in 2014, when postage rates increased from 22 cents to 30 cents.

SingPost said that mail volumes had declined by more than 40 per cent in the financial years of 2018 to 2019 and 2022 to 2023.

"The global structural decline in postal volumes over the last decade brought about by digital disruption has impacted the commercial viability of postal firms globally," it added.

The company said that that the adjustment will help it "address the loss caused by the persistent decline in postal volumes coupled with costlier labour, utilities, fuel, and higher conveyance expenses".

The rate increment is necessary for SingPost to "continue serving its obligations as Singapore’s public postal licensee while allowing further exploration of a more sustainable postal business model in the long term", it said.

It also said that it had to balance the need to "remain viable while safeguarding the interests of its shareholders".

Ms Neo Su Yin, SingPost's chief executive officer for Singapore, said that the company has been absorbing inflationary costs and keeping its postage rates constant since 2014.

"With the intensifying cost pressures and challenging business landscape, it is inevitable that we raise our prices to remain commercially sustainable so that we can continue providing the essential postal service for the nation." 

She added that the company is also pursuing "strategic transformation towards e-commerce and logistics to mitigate the persistent decline in postal volumes, as well as explore business growth opportunities".

The postal company is working closely with the Infocomm Media Development Authority to conduct a structural review of the postal business and formulate a longer-term strategy to attain commercial sustainability.

"SingPost remains committed to providing high standards of quality postal and parcel delivery services for Singapore, including provision of self-service and digital platforms, to remain innovative and relevant into the future," the company said.