Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1511356
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 NOVEMBER 2023 NEWS PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT OF CALLS: COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY STRATEGIC PLAN FOR MALTA 2023-2027 The Parliamentary Secretariat responsible for EU Funds would like to pre-announce the following call under the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027: • Intervention 73.3: Off-farm Investments (upgrading of rural roads) Note: This call focuses on the investment in rural roads and is open for public entities. • Intervention 73.4: Off-farm Productive Investments Note: This call focuses on the investment in processing and development of agricultural products. The call is open for farmers, including cooperatives and partnerships, other businesses as well as public entities. The actual launch of calls, together with the Application Form and supplementa- ry documentation, will be published in December 2023 and can be obtained from https://fondi.eu. The Call is expected to close in March 2024. Prospective Applicants are encouraged to refer to the Strategic Plan available on https://fondi.eu For more information about the calls and to register for the information sessions be- ing held in relation to these calls, kindly contact Servizzi Ewropej f'Malta (SEM) on info@sem.gov.mt or by calling on 2779 7300. CLAIRVOYANT Mr TOURE a Marabout clairvoyant medium healer and Exorcist with an exceptional gift. Specialising in disenchantment, voodoo protection against dangers, couple problems return of a loved one, impotence and sexual issues whatever the nature. Court cases. Tel: +35677484511 MATTHEW VELLA POSTAL mail in Malta is under- going a significant transforma- tion as it adapts to a changing digital landscape, with a notice- able decline of 7.1% in letter mail and bulk mail volumes in 2022. While the decline reflects the ongoing shift from traditional paper-based communication to digital alternatives, the Mal- ta Communications Authority says the postal sector has re- mained proactive in exploring avenues for growth. Postal mail volumes decreased from 31.1 million items in the previous year to 28.9 million mail items in 2022 (7.1% de- crease). Within the domestic mail category, the volume de- creased to almost 23 million items. Year-on-year, there were significant drops in bulk mail and letter mail, which in 2022 decreased by 6.1% and 10.5% respectively compared to the previous year. Registered mail experienced a substantial de- cline of 44.6% and parcel mail experiencing a modest de- crease of 1% in yearly volumes from 2021 to 2022. However, outside the univer- sal postal service, there was a year-on-year increase of 27% for courier or express-based services. Here, volumes for mail items weighing greater than 2kgs up to 31.5kgs showed a substantial growth of 417,418 items, representing a signifi- cant year-on-year increase of 52.6%. In its annual report, the MCA says postal service providers answer to the digital challenge by providing online tracking, e-commerce integration, and online payment options for customers. It is with parcel mail volumes that customers appear to be more acquainted with these days, where the increasing popu- larity of e-commerce has allowed the postal service to respond to these new opportunities. With dominant postal opera- tor MaltaPost – owned in part by Lombard Bank (71%) – have set about to raise certain fees in recent months, most nota- bly with newspaper post, the MCA says market conditions may not always be favourable to the incumbent provider. "There are no easy solutions to the complex issues faced by the postal sector," the MCA said. "The industry must nav- igate through evolving market dynamics, changing consumer preferences, and technological advancements while ensuring the provision of a reliable uni- versal service." In February, a survey by the MCA found that among 500 participant households, there was a 5% decrease in general satisfaction with postal servic- es, from 74% to 69%. Approxi- mately 62% reported no change in the number of letter mail items received in the previous 12 months, compared to 59% in 2018. Meanwhile, 31% noted a decline in received letter mail, compared to 34% in 2018. More interestingly, 40% of households in 2021 stated they did not send any letter mail, compared to 43% in 2018. And 31% of household re- spondents reported an increase in received parcels, compared to 27% in 2018. The main rea- son for this upswing was attrib- uted to the prevalence of online shopping, which became more frequent due to the pandemic in 2020. Local online shopping also saw significant engagement, with 70% of household re- spondents confirming they received goods from orders placed on local websites in the past 12 months. Parcel post grows as letter-mail keeps falling Letter and bulk mail keeps decreasing in 2022 but ecommerce and digital services keep driving increased volumes of parcel mail