Tajikistan’s communications service agency can become a monopolist of courier services in the country.
Two weeks ago, Tajik communications service agency sealed offices of four international logistics companies – Pony Express, TNT Express, United Parcel Service (UPS) and DHL Express – in Dushanbe.
Actually, only Express Mail Service (EMS) Tajikistan, which is subsidiary of the state-owned Pochtai Tojik (Tajik Post Office), has remained in Tajikistan’s market, and competitors, who were left without licenses, were proposed to work through the state-run company.
Back in March, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service was reporting that Pochtai Tojik is now offering parcel-tracking services. That was made possible by assistance by technical assistance from the Universal Postal Union, which provided their Tajik colleagues with 24 sets of barcode readers.
Besides, Swiss specialists conducted training courses on operating new equipment for employees of Pochtai Tojik Tajik through Internet.
Abdujojid Ashourov, an official with Pochtai Tojik, says they are now capable to compete with leading international mail service companies.
On June 7, the Communications Service under the Government of Tajikistan without warning sealed the offices of Pony Express, TNT Express, UPS and DHL Express in Dushanbe.
The official explanation, as provided through the Khovar state news agency, was that under newly adopted legislation, companies providing postal services now need to obtain operating licenses.
“The law must be upheld. If the aforementioned companies apply with the communications service for a license, once they receive a positive response, their activities can resume,” said Ilhom Atoyev, deputy head of the Communications Service.
Express mail is an accelerated mail delivery service for which the customer pays a surcharge and receives faster delivery. Mail is delivered not by international company but by domestic postal operators, which are members of the Universal Postal Union. In Tajikistan, Pochtai Tojik offers courier deliveries through its involvement in the international Express Mail Service.
Few in Tajikistan rely on traditional postage, since it is vastly easier to turn to friends and relatives to carry parcels in person when the need arises. Even official letters from one government body to another one are being delivered at least in two weeks.
Representatives of DHL, UPS, TNT and Pony Express say mainly the nongovernmental organizations, diplomatic missions and international organizations were their customers while ordinary people were enjoying their services rather rarely.
Last month, the communications service agency of Tajikistan reportedly asked courier companies to provide lists of their customers, purportedly for security purposes.
But once the agency had obtained the lists, it began calling the same customers to ask if they wished to use their services instead, representatives of the courier companies said.
Pochtai Tojik, however, denies this information as baseless. Ms. Rano Domullojonova, an employee of the Pochtai Tojik department for international cooperation, has told Asia-Plus that they used their own lists to call potential customers.
“Pochtai Tojik obtained an operating license in March and we are currently calling all diplomatic missions and international organizations active in the country offering them our services. We have applied to the Communications Service asking to give us lists of customers of other companies but they have refused. Therefore, we have used the base of customers, which we have compiled by ourselves,” Ms. Domullojonova said.
According to her, Pochtai Tojik prices suit many customers.
The Pochtai Tojik representatives admitted that “we are not as fast as DHL, but our prices are lower.”
Ms. Domullojonova also noted that Pochtai Tojik had got in touch with head offices of international mail service companies and proposed them to work through the Tajik operator.
Offices of international mail service companies in Dushanbe, however, don’t lose hope to obtain operating licenses.
Meanwhile, some experts say that their offices may hope that they can reopen, but that eventuality is far from certain.
