Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-03

The price of tissue paper, both imported and locally-produced, is set to go up between 10% and 30% in mid-March. The increase, which is due to a rise in global pulp and oil prices, has driven people to empty shelves at wholesale stores in a scramble to stock up. To ease public concerns, Premier William Lai said earlier this week that there is a steady supply of tissue paper and that the price for other daily necessities is “extremely stable” this year.

The local think tank Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) says that price hikes on tissue paper and soft drinks will have little impact on the overall price of basic goods because they make up a tiny proportion of daily expenditures. Still, economists are cautioning against a knock-on effect, saying that if the price for everyday goods increases over 1.5% and continues for a few months, it will be a cause for concern.

Currently, inflation in Taiwan stands below 1%. TIER economists have called on the government’s price stabilizing task force to pay more attention to the issue of inflation, as the rise in tissue paper prices could be the prelude to rising prices in other areas.
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