Taipei: The Executive Yuan announced on Monday its decision to freeze gasoline and diesel prices from February 16 to 23 to stabilize costs during Taiwan's Lunar New Year holiday. Natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices will remain unchanged until the end of February.
According to Focus Taiwan, this initiative was finalized during a Price Stabilization Task Force meeting held in anticipation of the holiday season. The Executive Yuan's news release stated that it has instructed the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), and Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to keep a close watch on the supply, demand, and price trends of agricultural products, holiday goods, services, and other essential consumer items.
The Executive Yuan reported that the MOA has proactively increased the supply of key agricultural products. Supplies of pork and poultry have been boosted by 7 to 24 percent, fruits and vegetables by 24 to 31 percent, aquatic products by 31 percent, and flowers by a significant 140 percent, based on historical holiday demand and current market conditions.
The MOA has also been tasked with intensifying market volume and price monitoring, ensuring coordination with production and marketing groups to adjust supplies promptly during the holiday period. Meanwhile, the Cabinet has directed the MOEA to instruct state-owned enterprises to cooperate with price stabilization measures, ensuring that fuel prices at CPC Corp., Taiwan stations can decrease but not increase during the holiday.
Retail prices for Taiwan Sugar Corp.'s small-pack household sugar and cooking oil will remain stable, with discounted essential goods available at the state-owned sugar company's supermarkets nationwide until the end of February. The MOEA has confirmed that prices for popular Lunar New Year dishes remain stable across both chain retailers and traditional markets.
The FTC has been instructed to monitor market conditions for essential holiday goods and services, including retail channels, shopping districts, beauty salons, and car detailing services. Investigations will be launched promptly if any irregularities are detected.
The MOEA has maintained strong communication with retailers, encouraging the establishment of discount sections. Major supermarket and hypermarket chains such as PX Mart, Carrefour, A-Mart, Simple Mart, and Funcom Supermarket have already set up designated areas or marked discounted items.