Kimberly-Clark hikes prices for toilet paper, tissue

A major tissue manufacturer announced yesterday that it would raise prices by between 8 percent and 10 percent later this month in response to rising materials costs.

Kimberly-Clark Taiwan, manufacturer of tissues under the brand name Sujay (舒潔) which holds one-third of the market, said a surcharge of NT$10 will be added to its products' price tags, regardless of size.

This means that a 12-box package of tissues will cost NT$149, up from NT$139, and a six pack of toilet paper will cost NT$109, up from NT$99, Kimberly-Clark Taiwan said.

Kimberly-Clark Taiwan's major rival Yuen Foong Yu Paper Co (永豐餘紙業) has adopted a more conservative approach to dealing with what it terms a "sensitive issue."

"As tissues are a staple product, we would rather not to cause panic among the public [by raising prices]," said Juliana Liu (劉瑞娥), Yuen Foong Yu's vice president.

However, the retail prices -- or "special prices" marked next to the original price tags of her company's toilet paper and facial tissues on sale in hypermarkets have been raised by 10 percent to 15 percent since the Lunar New Year holidays in late January.

Saying that the increase was unavoidable, Liu said the frequencies of her companies special offers have also been reduced, meaning that "the scope for price cuts has narrowed."

Another industry player, Cheng Loong Corp (正隆), which produces Andante (春風) tissues, said it would adopt a wait-and-see approach to raising prices.

"If the market responds well to Kimberly-Clark Taiwan's price hike, we do not rule out the possibility of following suit," said Suanne Cheng (鄭舒云), Cheng Loong's spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, the nation's three major hypermarket chains -- Carrefour Corp Taiwan, RT-Mart (大潤發) and Far Eastern Geant (愛買吉安) -- said their stores' tissue prices will remain unchanged by the end of next month even if suppliers are mulling changes.

Brenda Yen (嚴必文), public relations manager of Far Eastern Geant, said hypermarkets tend to absorb such hikes in a bid to maintain their competitive edge.

"However, I did see more people turn up to pick up tissues today [yesterday]," she said.

Apart from tissues, Yen said rice, cooking oil, sugar and flour might be among the products included in the next wave of price increases, as suppliers have repeated demanded price hikes since late March.

Inflation, however, is not yet a concern, said Chu Yun-peng (朱雲鵬), head of National Central University's Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development.

"We don't have to worry about inflation unless prices continue to rise for another three to six months," Chu said.

The nation's consumer price index (CPI) is predicted to climb 0.83 percent this year, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics reported yesterday.

The CPI climbed 1.12 percent last month from March, representing the biggest gain in 13 months, the agency said last week. The figure was 0.93 percent up from the same period last year, it added.