Taiwanese retailers have seen a rush on toilet paper over the weekend, as people were panic-buying toilet paper fearing an imminent price hike of the widely-used item as a direct result of rising raw material costs globally.
Businesses predict a price hike of toilet paper in Bangladesh as well.
They said $300 will be added to the international price of per pulp at $800 on shipment. The minimum price of paper will be $1100 per tone.
According to dollar valuation of Tk 84, the prices of per pulp will Tk 92,000. The final price of per tone of paper will be Tk 1,00,000 after adding taxation and other expenses.
Forest fires in Canada and disruption to production in Brazil are among the factors being blamed. As a result, the price of short fibre pulp, used to make toilet paper, now costs about $ 800 per tonne, compared with $650 a year ago, it said.
One of Taiwan’s largest toilet paper suppliers, YFY, said the situation was more drastic than that. It claimed pulp costs had increased even faster than government estimated, soaring by about 50 percent since the middle of last year. Packing and transportation costs were also rising, it added.
While the market experts predict a price rise in raw materials to result in higher toilet paper prices globally, there have so far been few reports of such a trend.
While China indicates it will impose an outright ban on mixed waste paper, a final decision isn’t expected until November. For now, authorities have tightened requirements on waste paper to markedly cut back on allowed levels of contaminants, making it difficult for many recyclers to meet.
Besides, the production of paper in India has been reduced to 25 per cent which directs the country to importer. Other South Asian countries also import papers. Basically, the setback of Chinese paper production will impact all Asian countries including Bangladesh.
Taiwan’s largest home shopping channel, ET Mall, said that of its 20 top-selling items, six were toilet paper – and demand was 10 times higher than usual, report British Broadcasting Corporation.
Taiwan’s government has ordered an investigation into the price hike, and The Department of Consumer Protection said it had received assurances from the country’s four major retailers – Carrefour, RT-Mart, A.mart and PX Mart – that prices would not rise until mid-March.