Alibaba and co. cause "parcel flood" from China
More and more Swiss online shoppers are stocking up on electronics accessories on Chinese Internet platforms such as Aliexpress. Swiss Post is also feeling the effects:
In 2015, the company delivered 2.5 million small goods consignments from China, as reported in Thursday's edition of the Handelszeitung. This means that the shipment volume has doubled compared to the previous year.
However, the boom in Chinese goods is not all positive for Swiss Post. This is because the remuneration that the Swiss state-owned company receives from the Far East is too small to cover the high costs of delivery. "Calculated down to the individual consignment, the remuneration does not cover the full costs," says Postmail boss Ulrich Hurni. Swiss mail order companies are also annoyed by China's preferential treatment in the international postal business. The reason for this is a regulation of the Universal Postal Union, which assigns the Chinese the status of a developing country and thus grants them more favorable conditions in cross-border postal traffic.
According to Patrick Kessler, President of the Mail Order Association, Swiss e-commerce retailers pay three to four times more for the delivery of their goods than Chinese retailers. This is a gross distortion of competition, says Kessler. An absurd version of globalization is taking place here: "Swiss Post, and therefore indirectly Swiss retailers, have to subsidize Chinese online retailers." (Handelszeitung)
