Gov’t urged to press retailers to cut prices
Written by Writer on Thursday, October 16th, 2008
Gov’t urged to press retailers to cut prices
CNA
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
TAIPEI, Taiwan –– The government should demand that domestic retailers of bulk commodities adjust their prices downward to reflect falling global prices, the Consumers’ Group suggested Monday.
Although the global prices of bulk commodities, such as wheat, soybeans, rice and corn, dropped sharply recently, local consumers did not benefit from the price drop as retailers did not lower their prices accordingly, said Hsieh Tien-jen, acting chairman of the group.
For example, Hsieh said, despite the fact that world flour prices fell significantly recently, the domestic prices of bread and noodles remained high.
In addition, most of the special zones set up by six supermarket and hypermarket chains around the country for fair-price goods have not provided sufficient information and have covered only a few product items, he noted.
In response,the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Industrial Development Bureau said that the factory price of flour dropped to NT$499.26 per 22-kilogram package in mid September from NT$584.04 per package in April. But as the sale price of flour products are linked to the purchasing behavior of wholesalers and pricing strategy of retailers, it is not appropriate for the government to interfere in the market economy, it added.
The bureau also said that it will ask the Consumer Protection Commission under the Executive Yuan to closely scrutinize the operations of the fair-price special zones.
However, Liu Ching-fang, an official of the commission, rebutted that the special zones were set up in accordance with the administrative guidelines, which are not based on any specific provisions in the law, therefore the establishment of such zones is not mandatory and not subject to regulations.
Liu added that with the current sluggish domestic economy, there is a need to maintain the special zones.
She acknowledged that the space for the special zones had been squeezed to make room for promotional campaigns during the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Chung Yuan ghost festival.
She added that the commission will provide the latest issue of Consumer Reports Magazine, which carries related reports, to the six supermarket and hypermarket chains in the hope that they will stick to their commitment to help consumers cope with surging product prices.
