Ukrposhta and Poczta Polska join forces
Joint Stock Company (JSC) “UKRPOSHTA” and Poczta Polska S.A. have concluded a bilateral Memorandum of Cooperation envisaging deeper cooperation in key areas, such as the development of e-commerce, simplification of logistics and customs processing of postal items exchanged between Ukraine and Poland, creation of joint products, including international delivery and philatelic issues.
“Poczta Polska has been actively supporting its Ukrainian counterpart since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The current geopolitical situation creates a new framework for cooperation, which we want to intensify and better coordinate. This will benefit both institutions, i.e. national postal operators, but also our customers living on both sides of the border,” notes Tomasz Zdzikot, Chairman of the Board of Poczta Polska.
“Ukrposhta, as a national postal operator, representing the interests of Ukraine in the world in the area of postal and logistics services, with this memorandum with Poczta Polska declares its intention to deepen integration with European countries in the field of providing postal services, so that the Ukrainian people can send postal items abroad as easily and quickly as they do within Ukraine. We understand that many of our clients have family members abroad, in particular in Poland, with whom they keep in touch. In addition, for many of our customers, export sales on international marketplaces are the only source of livelihood for their families. Therefore, Ukrposhta is directing all its efforts towards increasing the efficiency of export shipments and facilitating logistics, which will undoubtedly be achieved thanks to closer cooperation with Poczta Polska,” comments Igor Smelyansky, Director General of Ukrposhta.
The next step is to implement special delivery conditions. This will be a continuation of the previous initiatives that Poczta Polska introduced to support Ukraine, such as the free of charge service of sending EMS items containing up to 20 kg of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as well as the cancellation of fees for money transfers to Ukraine and customs processing fees for humanitarian parcels to Ukraine.
The special conditions offered by Ukrposhta under the “Parcel from Home” program, enabling sending parcels to Poland with a 70% discount from 11 March to 30 June, have already shown excellent results, taking into account the growing postal volumes from Ukraine to Poland (Poland has welcomed the highest number of Ukrainian refugees, and this has led to the increase in the postal volumes exchanged between the two countries). From January to July 2022, a total of 502 tonnes of postal items were sent from Ukraine to Poland compared to 34 tonnes last year. The inbound volumes to Ukraine also increased (in particular due to the growing weight of items): in the seven months of 2022, a total of 613 tonnes of postal items were sent to Ukraine, which is 12 times more than the 49 tonnes sent in the same period of 2021.
The postal operators of Ukraine and Poland have started creating both new logistics solutions with special rates for retail customers sending parcels to their relatives, and special products for the e-commerce to simplify cross-border trade between the two countries and to ensure wider access to critical imported goods for the Ukrainian people.
Poczta Polska has been supporting Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian aggression. In agreement with Ukrposhta, the Polish Post took over the role of the Ukrainian operator’s liaison in international postal traffic. Postal items from other countries arrive at the customs warehouse of Poczta Polska (by planes or by trucks), where they are loaded into Ukrposhta vehicles and go to Ukraine. This solution enabled stable delivery to Ukraine from most countries after the beginning of the war. In addition to imports, Poczta Polska also processes part of Ukrposhta’s export mail. Ukrposhta transports export mail from Ukraine by trucks and sends part of it to the Polish Post, which transits it by planes and trucks to destination countries. Thanks to the support of Poczta Polska, Ukrposhta managed to resume export and import deliveries in the conditions of the closed airspace within a week after the beginning of the war.
Poczta Polska also joined a government program to help Ukraine: it has placed at the disposal of the relevant state structures its accommodation in postal training and recreation centres and an employee hotel, vehicles for transporting Ukrainian citizens from the border to a location in Poland designated by the Emergency Staff and for transports for the Government Strategic Reserve Agency. The Polish postal service offered jobs to refugees, including many positions where knowledge of the Polish language is not required. Poczta Polska donated seven armoured vans designed to carry cash to one of the Ukrainian banks as part of its assistance to the people of embattled Ukraine.
The Polish Post delivered humanitarian aid to Ukraine, financed by its charity foundation “Pocztowy Dar”, the companies of the “Poczta Polska” group, and companies closely cooperating with the Polish Post. Poczta Polska also transported computer equipment for Ukrainian students who found shelter in Poland, so that they can continue their studies online in the Ukrainian education system.
Poczta Polska was one of the first postal companies to support the postal blockade of the Russian Post and suspended the acceptance of postal items from and to the aggressor country.
In March Poczta Polska launched a special postage stamp of the “We are with you!” issue, as an expression of support, respect and solidarity with Ukraine’s struggle for freedom and independence.
