TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Costco Taiwan on Wednesday (May 4) announced that it will be increasing the price of its toilet paper by nearly 9% amid rising material, shipping, and packaging costs.

The membership-based wholesale club was cited by CNA as stating that day that its in-house toilet paper brand Kirkland will rise by from NT$335 (US$11.33) to NT$365, an increase of 8.96%. According to Costco, the main reason for the price hike is the rise in global raw pulp prices.

Other factors listed include a rise in freight rates and packaging costs. Chung Hwa Pulp Corp (中華紙漿), a pulp and paper mill under the Yong Feng Yu Group (永豐餘集團), predicts that prices will continue to increase in May and June.

Costco stated that it had kept the price increase at 5% last year in an effort to stabilize prices. However, this year, the company could no longer absorb the rising costs and had to pass some of the burden on to the consumer.

Other major retailers, such as PX Mart, Carrefour, and A Mart, have yet to announce price hikes for their toilet paper products. Instead, they are currently offering consumers discounted prices to buoy sales.