As rising consumer prices dominate news headlines worldwide, inflation is set to hit a Taiwanese favorite: instant noodles.
Grocery store workers take advantage of the early hours to restock packs of instant noodles. That’s because Taiwanese people love the stuff, consuming over 800 million packages of instant noodles every year.
Unfortunately, this year, amid rising prices world wide, Taiwanese consumers are going to have to shell out a little more to get their instant noodle fix. Several major instant noodle brands have announced price increases. On average, each brand is raising their cost by about 10%.
However, not all brands are giving into the inflation trend, which is fueled by raw material shortages and supply chain issues. Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor says that a popular instant noodle label it puts out won’t see a price hike until at least the end of the year.
Customers are having a hard time accepting such prevalent price hikes, but it’s hard to fight back against economics. Officials say that inflation will ease off next year, but it’s hard to tell if people’s bank accounts can hold out for that long.