More countries are considering selling state-owned postal services - many have failed to make a profit for years.

As businesses and people send fewer letters, there's also strong competition from global package delivery companies.

We hear about the challenges facing postal services in Ireland, many of which have been in business for more than a hundred years.

And we look to the US, where President Donald Trump favours privatising the national mail service; while in India, the state-run post office network will remain under government control.

We also examine efforts to modernise postal services, which could mean delivery by drones and robots in the near future, supervised by AI.

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Produced and presented by Russell Padmore

(Image: A green pillar postbox in Ireland)