Gov't asks CPC, FPCC to boost production as plastic bag prices soar

Taipei, March 31 (CNA) Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said the government has asked Taiwan's two largest petrochemical companies to increase production as the war in the Middle East continues to disrupt global oil supply, driving up plastic bag costs.

According to local media, Yeedon Enterprise Co., which owns Taiwan's leading rice brand, San-Hao Rice, reported that the cost of 3-liter plastic bags has doubled from NT$4 (US$0.12) to NT$5 to NT$8 to NT$10, as a material shortage persists due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

During a legislative question-and-answer session, opposition Kuomintang Legislator Wang Yu-min (王育敏) asked Cho what actions the government has taken to address a shortage of ethylene, a petroleum derivative and a precursor material for plastic bags.

Cho replied that the government has instructed the state-run CPC Corp., Taiwan, to make up for current ethylene production shortfalls.

The government will provide the required quantity of raw materials to CPC Corp. in April, and the company will boost its monthly ethylene production from the current 60,000 metric tons to 79,000 to 80,000 tons, Cho said.

Cho said the government has also asked Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (FPCC) to increase production. The company has said it could not increase production as much as CPC Corp., with the final amount of increase yet to be confirmed.

Cho added that the supply of petroleum and liquefied natural gas is "almost stable" through June.

Wang recommended that the Cabinet establish a cross-agency task force to contain the economic shock of the war and prevent it from affecting the semiconductor industry and the prices of daily necessities.