Taiwan: Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp announces recommended retail price hike

Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (TTL) said on August 8 that it has increased the recommended retail price of Taiwan Beer and its own-brand cigarettes due to rising raw material costs, the Taipei Times reported.

TTL said it had raised the recommended retail price of Taiwan Beer products — Gold Label, Classic and 18 Days Draft — by NT$5 (US$0.16) per bottle or can, effective from Tuesday last week.

In addition, the recommended retail price of TTL cigarettes has been raised by between NT$5 and NT$10 per pack, the state-owned company said.

The company said that it would not profit from the price hike because the change in the price of the products did not exceed the increased costs of the raw materials.

The latest price hike comes two months after TTL raised the price of kegs and bottles of Taiwan Beer products by 1 to 2 percent for large wholesalers and by 3 to 7 percent for small wholesalers.

Effective June 1, the price of a keg of beer rose by an average of NT$10 per liter and the price of a case of bottled beer (containing 12 600ml bottles) increased by an average of NT$36 to NT$60.

Because the June adjustment altered wholesale prices, the changes were mainly noticeable at venues like “hot fry” restaurants and nightclubs.

The company said it had not raised Taiwan Beer prices in more than 20 years, but that as a state-run corporation it had to remain profitable to be able to pay a required NT$6 billion into the national coffers each year, which is why the price increases were necessary.