The long-awaited drop in consumer prices has begun in the form of the price of an odd product -- dates. The sweet, sticky palm-tree-fruit is the first to see a serious fall in prices.
"To reflect the post-WTO duty rate, we have already decided to cut our dates price today," said Beverly Yeh, director of merchandise at Cosco Taiwan.
Imported from the US, the fruit arrived in Taiwan on Jan. 1, the first day of new tariffs.
Although dates are not a popular consumer food in Taiwan, the price drop is a sign of WTO benefits to come.
The US wholesaler vowed to continue slashing shelf prices as soon as the products pass customs.
"Within the next two weeks, we will drop prices as soon as commodities come in under the new tariff rates," Yeh said.
Consumers will also be blessed with cheaper vitamins, a product long over-priced in Taiwan.
According to Yeh, Cosco will offer most imported goods at much lower prices soon, as "our turnover is so fast."
Establishing its first local store in Kaohsiung in 1997, Cosco Taiwan currently has three "wholesale" (membership only) hypermarts around the country.
Meanwhile, another local wholesaler said customers could enjoy cheaper prices for imported meats and fruits as soon as next week.
"Prices of fruit such as Thai durians, Washington apples, US cherries and New Zealand kiwi fruit are expected to drop 10 to 20 percent," said Fiona Wang (王彤芳), public relations manager at wholesaler RT-Mart Ltd (大潤發量販店).
Beef imported from the US and Australia will also reflect new prices at NT$3 less per kilogram, Wang said.
However, French wholesaler Carrefour said it won't launch any large-scale price reductions until Chinese New Year.
"The government's post-WTO policies and the public's acceptance level of imported goods are still a matter of speculation, so we prefer to be more conservative in cutting prices," said Kao Chih-hua (高治華), public relations manager for Carrefour Corp (家樂福量販店).
Most of the contracts Carrefour signed with suppliers are year-based, so the company can't change prices right away, Kao added.
The Carrefour strategy aims to use post-WTO price reductions as part of its Chinese holiday promotion. "Chinese New Year is high season for hypermarts and its also a good opportunity to promote new products," Kao said.
However, customers will soon see more imported fruit from Korea and Southeast Asia and more beef from Australia on Carrefour shelves. She promised that "prices of these newly imported goods will be cheaper, for sure."
But Welcome Supermarkets' Hsu Chao-kai (許朝凱) foresees no immediate price drop.
"For post-WTO price changes, we prefer to wait and see wholesalers' responses first and then modify our pricing later."
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