TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s rice traders have pledged to absorb rising packaging costs, Agriculture Minister Chen Chun-chi (陳駿季) said Thursday, as shortages of plastic materials strain the market.
Global oil prices have risen due to conflicts in the Middle East, disrupting plastic supplies. This has prompted concerns that higher packaging costs could push up rice prices, according to CNA.
Taiwan’s largest rice brand is facing immediate pressure. Its monthly vacuum packaging costs have doubled, while upstream supply has been cut in half, according to UDN.
Some rice traders ship tens of thousands of packages daily, spending up to NT$10 million (US$311,808) per day on packaging, KMT lawmaker Yeh Yuan-chin (葉元之) said. He noted that upstream packaging suppliers initially announced a 20% price increase, which has now been raised to 100%.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said the government is closely monitoring rice prices and has asked CPC, a major domestic petroleum supplier, to increase production of plastic raw materials. Formosa Plastics has also been asked to restore previous supply levels to boost upstream material availability.
Chen added that all matters are being coordinated and that rice traders have promised to absorb the higher packaging costs. The government will continue monitoring prices to ensure small increases in plastic costs do not affect retail rice prices.
Rice is Taiwan’s most important food crop. Data from the 2023 food supply and demand report shows that annual per capita rice consumption in Taiwan averages about 42.07 kilograms, according to the Agriculture and Food Agency.
