COST OF LIVING / Taiwan to freeze fuel prices over Lunar New Year, gas rates through February

Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) The Executive Yuan said on Monday it would freeze gasoline and diesel prices from Feb. 16 to 23 to help stabilize prices around the Lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan, and keep natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices unchanged until the end of February.

The measures were decided at a meeting of the Price Stabilization Task Force held ahead of the Lunar New Year.

The Executive Yuan said in a news release that it instructed the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to closely monitor supply, demand and price trends for agricultural products, holiday goods, services and other key consumer necessities.

According to the Executive Yuan, the MOA has increased supplies of major agricultural products based on past holiday demand and recent market conditions, raising supplies of pork and poultry by between 7 percent and 24 percent, fruit and vegetables by 24 percent to 31 percent, aquatic products by 31 percent and flowers by 140 percent.

The Executive Yuan said the MOA was also asked to strengthen monitoring of market volumes and prices and to maintain close coordination with production and marketing groups to adjust supplies in a timely manner during the major holiday season.

The Cabinet said it directed the MOEA to require state-owned enterprises to cooperate with price stabilization measures.

This includes ensuring fuel prices at CPC Corp., Taiwan stations can fall but not rise during the holiday period and maintaining current prices for car wash services at CPC-operated gas stations.

The Executive Yuan said retail prices for Taiwan Sugar Corp.'s small-pack household sugar and cooking oil would remain unchanged, and that discounted essential goods would be offered at the state-owned sugar company's supermarket outlets nationwide through the end of February.

The Cabinet said the MOEA found prices for popular Lunar New Year dishes to be stable at both chain retailers and traditional markets.

The Cabinet has instructed the FTC to closely monitor market conditions for key holiday goods and essential services, including major retail channels, shopping districts, beauty salons and car detailing services, and to promptly launch investigations if irregularities are detected, it said.

The Cabinet added that the MOEA has maintained close communication with retailers and encouraged the creation of discount sections.

Major commercial supermarket and hypermarket chains including PX Mart, Carrefour, A-Mart, Simple Mart and Funcom Supermarket have already set up such areas or marked discounted items, it said.