Taiwan running out of toilet paper amid pricing panic

Supermarkets in Taiwan have seen a frenzy of customers over the weekend trying to stock up on toilet paper amid fears of sharp price increases.

Shelves usually stacked with toilet paper stand empty. One customer said that she had already visited two or three stores in her hunt for toilet paper.

Taiwan’s Department of Consumer Protection urged customers not to worry and assured them that the prices of toilet paper would not change until the middle of March because catalogues had already been printed.

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The panic buying started after word spread that toilet paper manufacturers were expecting a 10 per cent to 30 per cent price rise as a result of a supply disruption in short fibre pulp, local media reported.

WATCH: Fears over spike in toilet paper prices create shortages in Taiwan

1:00 Fears over spike in toilet paper prices create shortages in Taiwan