A standard letter, for example, will cost 85 cents instead of 80 cents, a compact letter 1 euro (currently 95 cents). The company is also increasing the price of postcards, which will cost 70 cents, 10 cents more than before. Deutsche Post justified the postage increase because of higher costs and decreasing mail volumes.

Previously, the Federal Network Agency, as the responsible regulatory authority, had approved a margin for price increases on the basis of which Deutsche Post is allowed to raise postage. This leeway is 4.6 percent - that is how much the basket of all regulated types of mail may become more expensive. The value is relatively low; for the 2019 postage increase, it was 8.9 percent.

The letter market has been shrinking in the digital age for a long time. People are writing far fewer letters than they used to and are instead increasingly using emails, chats or social media in their communication. However, the letter business is still lucrative for the Bonn-based company - this is also due to the government-approved price increases.

The topic of postage increases is a hot potato. On the one hand, it annoys some consumers when their old stamps are no longer sufficient and they have to add extra postage to their items. In addition, there is always criticism from competitors: Parcel service providers complain that Deutsche Post DHL can cross-subsidise its parcel business with letter revenues and thus has a competitive advantage in the booming parcel market.

(Original text: Wolf von Dewitz, dpa; Translation: Mareike Graepel)