The toilet paper panic hints at deep flaws in Taiwan’s corporate structures.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/03/01
By: Brian Hioe

Alarm in the past week regarding planned hikes in toilet paper prices in Taiwan has been

Credit: 易俊宏
Bare shelves illustrate the depths of Taiwan’s toilet paper panic.

bizarre, leading to a consumer panic in which entire stores have been sold out of toilet paper. Toilet paper prices are set to rise next month by 10 percent to 30 percent. No less than the Executive Yuan has weighed in on the matter, urging that there is no need to panic about possible toilet paper shortages.

While toilet paper suppliers justify the raises by citing raises in pulp prices on the international market, controversy has been heated enough that the Executive Yuan has stated that it will look into whether toilet paper suppliers have colluded to raise prices. The Executive Yuan has stated that toilet paper suppliers have done this in the past, or offered false justifications to hike prices, but that there has indeed been an increase in the expenses needed to produce pulp from toilet paper from $650 USD to $800 USD this time. However, the Executive Yuan also asserts that it will investigate wrongdoing. Likewise, the four major supermarket chains in Taiwan, Pxmart, RT-Mart, Carrefour, and A-Mart Taiwan, have vowed not to raise prices before next month or to stockpile toilet paper in anticipation of making further profits when prices rise. Some accusations have also suggested that involved companies leaked information regarding the price hikes beforehand to drive up demand.    [FULL  STORY]