The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday said it is launching an investigation following media reports that tissue paper companies have reached an agreement to collectively introduce a price increase of between 10 and 30 percent next month.
According to local media reports, tissue paper companies have reportedly put a price increase on hold since 2016 when the cost of international pulp began to increase, but the cost has shot up by more than 40 percent over the past year.
Major retailers yesterday said they have been receiving notices from tissue paper companies about a planned price increase.
Photo: CNA
Hypermarket chain RT-Mart said the price increase would be reflected at all of its stores, with prices expected to increase by between 10 and 30 percent.
The price increase would “definitely” be carried out before April, RT-Mart said.
Hypermarket chain A-Mart said the price increase would be between 10 and 20 percent, and would begin in the middle of next month at the earliest.
In response, FTC Deputy Chairman Perng Shaw-jiin (彭紹瑾) said the commission would pay close attention to the alleged collective price increase.
The FTC is launching an investigation that covers not just a concerted act of price increases, but also whether distribution channels conspired with the tissue paper companies to launch a price increase, Perng said, adding that the companies would be asked to explain the reason behind the increases.
Firms found to have acted in concert to increase prices would be fined between NT$100,000 and NT$50 million (US$3,412 and US$1.71 million) under the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法), Perng said.
The fines could be doubled if the companies do not desist within a set period of time and they can repeated, he added.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS