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DGBAS says inflation more acute in some commodities
Officials have admitted that for some commodities, inflation is much more serious than the official numbers suggest.
The Director-General of Budget Accounting and Statistics' (DGBAS) data shows that Taiwan's Consumers Price Index rose 2.95% on average last year, the highest in 14 years. The CPI also rose more than 3% last month.
However, many consumers have questioned the numbers, saying that they don't match what really went on in daily life.
The DGBAS says today that many vegetables such as cabbage did rise nearly 60% in January, cooking oil 15%, and salmon, 24%.
Prices for hotel accommodations also went up 27-percent, while breakfast in general cost some 8% more.
Officials say the CPI survey includes many items that people don't necessarily buy, and that's the reason why they feel the numbers didn't reflect the truth.
In related news, the Taiwan Poultry Association has agreed to raise the wholesale price of domestically-produced eggs by NT$2. According to the Council of Agriculture, the move means that the price of 600 grams of eggs will rise to NT$52.
Agriculture Minister Chen Ji-chong, the price hike comes as an uptick in avian flu infections and big temperature swings last year have had an impact on egg production, with daily output currently down to 114,000 cartons.
The production of eggs stood at 122,000 cartons per day as of the end of December.
The agriculture minister says the government will continue to waive business taxes on imported raw materials such as corn to aid chicken farmers with their costly feed problem. The objective is to ensure a stable supply of eggs to consumers, while working to comprehensively modernize poultry farms to reduce the impact of bird flu and extreme weather.
