53. The total number of parcels posted, by both air and surface, to other countries also declined during the year. There was a decrease of 19.5% in the number of air parcels posted, from 925,200 to 745,000, and the fall can to some extent be explained by the increasing activi- ties of air forwarding agents who by taking advantage of specially negotiated air cargo rates, are able to offer air parcel services at a somewhat lower charge than the Post Office to certain countries.
54. The number of parcels posted to China increased to 702,100 compared with 541,800 the previous year while the total number of surface parcels posted to all countries showed a slight increase to 1,659,400 compared with 1,651,500.
55. Parcels received from abroad, including parcels received in transit, increased to 597,900 compared with 587,100 in the previous year. This increase was due to an increase in surface parcels, whilst air and transit parcels showed decreases.
56. The routings of air and surface mails to overseas countries were kept under review to make the optimum use of the airline and shipping services available, and during the year major reviews of the air and surface mail sorting plans were undertaken with a view to improving the efficiency of operations.
57. Additional direct despatches were received from the following offices during the year:
Letter Mail (Air)
Asuncion
Bahrain
Chicago
Edmonton
Jeddah
Port au Prince
Sao Pedro Sula
Letter Mail (Surface)
Dacca
Edmonton
Halifax
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