Protecting local pork prices not so simple
By Yen
Ting-tung 顏廷棟
After the government lifted the ban on US pork imports containing traces of ractopamine on Jan. 1, a boxed meal restaurant posted a notice saying it was raising prices by NT$5 and NT$10 (US$0.18 and US$0.35) for two types of meals to reflect the higher cost of local pork. The price hikes caused public anger, as people suspected that it was using the situation as an excuse to raise prices.
Consumer protection officers promptly conducted an investigation, with preliminary results showing that the price increases were reasonable.
Nevertheless, the Cabinet is proceeding with caution, demanding that the Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee continue to monitor and control market prices, and that if irregular price hikes are found, the committee, related agencies and local governments should crack down on such irregularities.