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.
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
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Deliveries of delayed F-16V jets are expected to begin in September, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said today, after senior defense officials visited the US last week. The US in 2019 approved a US$8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the nation’s F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets, but the project has been hit by issues including software problems. Koo appeared today before a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which is discussing different versions of the special defense budget this week. The committee is questioning officials today,
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