Comparing the prices charged in Portugal in 2014 and 2015 with the European average, we find that they stand below the average for the four services analysed in this study.
The price for sending a 20 g priority national item of mail is 15 per cent below the EU average (excluding Portugal); while in 2014 it was 16.5 per cent below. Although the price increased more than the European average in 2015, Portugal moved from 10th position in 2014, in terms of lowest prices, to 9th, in 2015, together with Estonia. In comparison with the prices charged in 2018 and 2011, the price in Portugal rose at a slower pace than the average price of the other EU countries.
In the non-priority national mail, the price for sending a 20 g item in Portugal was 16.4 per cent below the EU average (excluding Portugal), with the 9th lowest price among the seventeen countries that offer this service. Given the prices in force in 2008 and 2011, the price in Portugal increased more quickly than the European average.
The cost of sending a 20 g cross-border mail item to a destination in another Member State is 28 per cent below the EU average (excluding Portugal), and Portugal moved from 7th place in the lowest price ranking to third place in 2015. As with the priority Nacional mail, this price has increased at a slower pace than the EU average, when comparing the prices in force in 2008 with those of 2011.
Regarding national parcels, the cost of sending a 2 kg item in Portugal was 3.8 per cent lower than the EU average (excluding Portugal) in 2015, which was the 15th lowest price in the group of Member States. In 2014, the price was 6.6 per cent lower than the EU average, also the 15th lowest price. Regarding 2008 and 2011, the price of this service increased at a faster pace than the EU average.
Looking at PPP, this, too, shows that in 2014 and 2015 the prices in Portugal were below the EU average, except for the price of national parcels, which was higher than the European average.
