The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday urged businesses not to raise prices or stockpile goods based on speculative concerns about the impact of the war in the Middle East, as it could disrupt the market and contravene legal regulations.
The ongoing war in Iran has raised concerns about the supply and price of petrochemical raw materials and downstream products, including plastics.
Lawmakers have said that while CPC Corp, Taiwan, has not experienced any supply shortages, prices for everyday plastic products have already risen, making it harder on consumers.
Photo: screen grab from the Legislative Yuan livestream
Farmers have been struggling to purchase plastic boxes and packages for their products due to shortages, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said.
Tsai asked if the ministry had been monitoring potential stockpiling or panic buying driven by speculation and how it plans to respond.
Although raw material prices have risen, the ministry is working to ensure stable supply, Industrial Development Association Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) said.
“Major petrochemical plants have suspended exports to prioritize domestic supply,” Chiou said.
“However, we found that some midstream distributors are delaying shipments or stockpiling,” he said, adding that there is no issue with upstream supply and urging people not to act based on speculation.
The ministry on Tuesday announced a plan to monitor materials including four steps: asking major petrochemical companies to prioritize domestic supply, urging businesses to keep prices reasonable, cracking down on stockpiling and closely monitoring the situation while adjusting supply as needed.
Manufacturers facing material shortages can contact the ministry’s dedicated hotline at 02-2701-1669 #105-107 to help match them with alternative suppliers, the ministry said, adding that it is maintaining close contact with businesses.
Raw materials are not in short supply and are not being exported, and production is focused on meeting downstream consumer demand for everyday goods, Tsai said.
Prices on the consumer end of the market should not be rising, and if they are, the problem could lie somewhere in the middle, he said.
There may be illegal stockpiling, in which case the ministry would thoroughly investigate and issue penalties, he added.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
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The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
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