To stabilize domestic prices in response to the Middle East conflict, the Executive Yuan yesterday announced that electricity rates would remain unchanged from this month through September, adding that fuel prices would also stay flat this week.
To maintain price stability, the top priority is to ensure normal production and distribution operations, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has been instructed to require CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) to maintain stable production and secure sufficient supplies, including increasing the availability of light oil, to keep prices steady.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Lee quoted Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as directing the Ministry of Agriculture to implement all measures to stabilize the agriculture sector, including supplies of fertilizers and fuel used in farming and fishing.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications will, as prescribed, initiate subsidies for aviation fuel on domestic routes, she added.
The economics ministry’s electricity price review committee has decided that electricity rates would remain unchanged from this month to September, Industrial Development Administration Deputy Director-General Tsou Yu-hsin (鄒宇新) said.
Gasoline and diesel prices are also to stay the same this week, Tsou said, adding that prices for bottled liquefied petroleum gas and household natural gas would not increase this month.
“We have reviewed the shipping schedule for gas deliveries from April to June, and 31 percent of shipments would be affected by the conflict in the Middle East. However, we will ensure that the safety stock remains above 11 days,” he said.
“We have worked to adjust shipping routes so that shipments leave via the Red Sea, or we use spot purchases to make up the difference,” Tsou said.
“Of this adjustment, about 46 percent is handled by rerouting exports through the Red Sea, and 54 percent through spot purchases,” he said.
“Overall, through these efforts, our strategic safety stock is currently above 140 days,” he said.
Lee also quoted Cho as saying that there are still a number of Taiwanese nationals in the Middle East region who require special attention.
The government will make every effort to ensure their safety, so there are no security concerns, she added.
However, as the conflict is ongoing, Taiwanese nationals are urged not to travel to the Middle East to avoid potential incidents or emergencies, Cho was quoted as saying.
Additional reporting by AFP
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