CHANGHUA (TVBS News) — Huang Shih-chieh, chairperson of the Lukang Old Street Business District in Changhua County, expressed concerns over the rising cost of electricity on Monday (April 15).
Huang claimed that most food vendors are reluctant to raise prices because of the customers' declining purchasing power despite rising electricity costs and inflation.
According to Huang, companies that make bread and cakes—which demand a lot of electricity—may have to absorb a 10% rise in costs due to the recent increase in electricity prices. The price of baozi and steamed buns may increase by about 5%.
Huang thinks that even though costs are increasing, companies still need to consider the state of the economy. Price increases could cause customers to constrict their spending even more, creating a vicious inflation cycle.
He was especially worried about a recent incident involving expired meat used by a well-known Taichung Yakiniku restaurant. He thinks this shows how much money companies lose when sales fall short of inventory, which indicates a weakening consumer purchasing power and negative market sentiment.
Huang deemed the government's green energy strategy to be immature. "In the end, the public bears the expensive expense of acquiring green energy, " He said.
The chairperson asked the government to develop thorough considerations to prevent policy blunders that affect the public at large.