Taiwan's CPI Growth Reaches 1.33% in February

Taipei, March 11, 2011 (CENS)--Although the average price of Taiwan's non-endurable consumer goods surged an annual 3.42% in February, the highest of its kind in 10 months, contrasted against the annual growth of the consumer price index (CPI) in the same month of a modest 1.33%, according to Taiwan's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics (DGBAS).

In February the prices of consumer products, including instant noodle, salad oil, bread, milk powder, toilet paper, crackers, cookies, candies, fruits, cereals, etc. all showed an obvious growth. Among them, the price of instant noodle went up by 5.3% and toilet paper up by 6.7%; while mushroom and small red bean both sharply rose by over 10%. Moreover, the prices of bitter melon and date both surged by about 45%.

However, in the same month one fifth of the products experienced a fall in prices, mainly durable items including digital cameras, TV sets, computers, mobile phones and Internet service charge. Among them the prices of notebook computer and telecom service charges showed an annual drop of 20%.

The prices of crops like wheat, soybean, and corn remained at high levels in the international market in February. As for the prices of other raw materials such as cotton, rubber and copper, all hit record highs during the month.

As a result, Taiwan saw a sizable annual growth of 16.47% in import price in February based on U.S. dollar, which was a new high in 10 months. If based on NT dollar, the corresponding percentage shrank to 6.5% since the value of NT dollar appreciated 9.3% against US dollar over the last year.