TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — While certain products might see price rises in the short term, there should be no concern about long-term inflation getting out of hand, the government’s budget chief said Wednesday (March 10).
Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民), the head of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics (DGBAS), said recent international price hikes for crude oil, corn, and soybeans would only result in price increases for consumers in the near future, but did not amount to signs of inflation ahead, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported.
He also pointed out that comparisons made between February of this year and Feb. 2020 were misleading because the Lunar New Year period falls in different periods each year. The discrepancy contributed to this February’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 1.37 percent being the highest in a year, Chu said.
As oil prices had been low through most of last year, a temporary upswing was a relatively normal phenomenon that was unlikely to last, according to the budget chief. If the CPI exceeded 2 percent, government departments would take special measures, including tougher action against unfair price rises, Chu emphasized, adding he did not expect continuous inflation.
The official also encouraged enterprises to raise salaries for their employees in order to offset price hikes, RTI reported.