Pos Indonesia to raise rates for special express postage

BANDUNG (JP): The state postal company PT Pos Indonesia will increase the rates for special express postage by between 8 and 50 percent depending on parcel weight.

The company's public relations manager Hakim Roesamsi said here on Monday the increase would apply to products of all weights except those between 250 and 5,000 grams, the rates for which would be cut by 5 percent instead.

Hakim said the increases were necessary because of the rising operating costs associated with providing a postal service.

The company will introduce 14 destination zones and five weight classifications upon which the new postal charges will be based.

Hakim said the special express postal service accounted for only 8.95 percent of the total volume of mail handled by the domestic postal service.

Hakim also said overseas postal rates had increased on July 1.

The larger part of charges for mail destined for abroad are paid into an international institution called the postal service administration at a special drawing rate, he said.

The special drawing rate is determined by the Universal Postal Union and is based on the average exchange rate of several currencies. It is usually described in terms of U.S. dollars.

"Other components that make overseas mail expensive are the costs of air transportation and other services," Hakim said. (43/das)