Beāte Krauze-Čebotare, chairwoman of the Latvian Post, said: "Volumes have really gone up. We see people also working extra shifts to get us through shipment handling. We are pleased that more and more people are also choosing to shop online and provide themselves with gifts in electronic form. Comes from abroad too. We see that very actively foreign relatives,and friends send packages to their loved ones in Latvia."
Those who wish to send something abroad are already too late – Latvian Post will not be able to deliver the gifts before the holidays. It has to be taken into account that the number of shipments has risen around the world, and it can get stuck in another country.
However, within Latvia, the latest deadline for handing parcels over to a post office or courier is December 17, explained the company. This applies not only to packages, but also to greeting cards and letters.
Krauze-Čebotare said: "There are a lot of greeting cards and letters this year. Children also send their letters to Santa, and for us, the amount of work is increasing."
The increase in shipments is also felt by the delivery services DPD and Omniva.
Dita Mirbaha, spokeswoman for DPD Latvia, said: “As is the case every year, the volume of shipments is growing very much. We're dealing with the volume of shipments very well right now. Snow, uncleared roads are a bigger challenge, causing additional inconvenience and loads for couriers.”
Omniva Latvija also said that the large number of shipments is handled well for now.
The head of Omniva Latvija Gusts Muzikants said: “We can currently sort out 6,000 items per hour. Not too late yet, but of course I would urge everyone not to postpone delivery for the last day. The more timely we start, the more peaceful it will be for ourselves. If we want to send a shipment from the a parcel machine to a parcel machine, the latest date will be December 2 at 17:00. But I repeat, let's not put it off until the end, let's do it all earlier.”
