Deutsche Post World Net Monopoly to be Reduced in 2003

The delivery monopoly held by Deutsche Post AG, the German postal operator, looks set to be reduced as of next year. It has been announced that the market is to be opened up to competitors. This came from an announcement from the European parliament, which has limited the delivery monopoly to packages of up to 100g from next year, and 50g from 2006. The current monopoly, provided for packages up to 200g in weight, was renewed last year to run until 2007. The 50g monopoly by 2006 will still mean that 80 per cent of the current deliveries will still be covered by Deutsche Post, and the market is not expected to be fully opened up until 2009.