Ticket prices for public transportation would remain unchanged for now, despite rising fuel prices, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, as the government seeks to stabilize consumer prices.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications would ensure that the high-speed railway, Taiwan Railway Corp (台鐵), MRT and public bus services would not increase their fares, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) told a news conference after a weekly Cabinet meeting.
The adjustment of domestic flight fares would be postponed as well, Cheng said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) has been presiding over a meeting every Monday on livelihood stability measures since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran, with Cabinet officials at the meetings providing updates on developments in the war and proposing response measures.
Cheng on Wednesdays convenes an ad hoc task force to monitor consumer prices, the Ministry of Economic Affairs holds daily meetings to respond to changes in fuel prices and the Ministry of Justice frequently holds interagency joint price inspection task force meetings.
CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) on Fridays briefs Cho on the latest oil prices before announcing any changes to prices in Taiwan to the public on Saturdays.
Cheng said that the government’s response measures are in seven categories.
First, the government would protect the safety of Taiwanese at home and overseas, she said, adding that as of yesterday, 5,289 Taiwanese had returned home from the Middle East since the war began.
Second, the government has kept oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) inventory levels above regulatory standards, she said.
“Natural gas shipments for this month and next month have been fully scheduled,” Cheng said. “For LNG supply in June, 15 shipments are required, of which 10 have been procured.”
For July and August, sources of LNG outside the Middle East would be increased, she said.
Third, to stabilize consumer prices, the government has been monitoring prices of food items from 38 brands, including Taiwanese omelets, hamburgers, fried chicken, potstickers, beef noodle soup, boxed lunches with chicken drumsticks, boxed lunches with pork chops, braised pork with rice, hot pot with pork, chicken soup, ramen with pork bone soup, Americano coffee, black tea, stinky tofu and buffets, she said.
Three food brands have raised their prices since the war began, she added.
Fourth, the government would implement four mechanisms to ensure supply chain stability: increasing production at petrochemical factories; prioritizing supply to domestic manufacturers; pursuing increased production and allocation among midstream and downstream firms; and strictly cracking down on hoarding and price gouging, Cheng said.
“We would also ensure smooth imports of light oil and increased production of ethylene from CPC Corp, Taiwan to maintain plastic supplies,” she said.
The state-run petrochemical firm is to ramp up ethylene production to 79,000 tonnes this month and 90,000 tonnes next month, she said.
Fifth, aside from the Joint Price Inspection Task Force, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office has also launched a platform to investigate livelihood-related crimes, she said, adding that the Fair Trade Commission is investigating pricing and supplies of plastic bags.
Sixth, the government is monitoring how the war is affecting stock and foreign exchange markets, Cheng said.
“Taiwan’s stock market decline is moderate compared with major Asian countries, with the fundamentals remaining sound,” she said.
Seventh, officials at the central and local governments are coordinating on industrial supply chain adjustments and monitoring price fluctuations, with Executive Yuan Secretary-General Xavier Chang (張惇涵) serving as liaison, Cheng said.
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