It might be the time of year for writing and sending postcards, but the Czech postal service is inundated with mail of another kind.
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Česká pošta is being inundated with parcels arriving from the United States. The postal service has handled over 120,000 packages arriving from the states in the first six months of this year alone - that is up from 70,000 during the same period last year. Ivo Mravinac is a spokesperson for Czech Post, he thinks the glut of incoming packages is down purely to economics:
“The dollar has taken a big hit against the crown and Czechs have done two things – one, they have become increasingly interested in internet shopping and two, they have realized that they can make big savings buying foreign goods, especially from the United States. And this has had a knock-on effect on the number of parcels we are receiving from America. In May 2007, we received 4,900 parcels from America, in May 2008, that number was up to 7,500.â€
Couriers such as DHL and UPS back up Mr Mravinac’s statistics. DHL says it has experienced a 99 percent rise in the number of American parcels it handles here. Česká pošta is in the same boat; how is it handling the rise?
“Of course the Czech postal service is happy with this rise, because it means an upturn in business, which is always good. But there is one small complication, because this post is not being sent from within the Czech Republic, it is not even coming from inside the European Union, and so this means that customs officials have to monitor the parcels arriving, and we are completely dependent upon them – we have to work in accordance with them.â€
And what exactly are Czechs buying from the United States? Again, Ivo Mravinac:
“That is a perilous question - you know that according to the law, we aren’t allowed to know what is in the parcels we are delivering. Our job is just to deliver the parcels, not to open them. But, of course we do know what is in the parcels, because we are informed by customs officers what is coming into the country. And the majority of Czechs are buying electronic goods from the United States.â€
So next time you see a Czech wielding a smart new digital camera or MP3 player, the chances are higher than ever that it came par avion.
(radio-Prague)
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