Some fast-food chains and restaurant services of all types have already bumped the prices of its menu items before the Lunar New Year holidays. Now even some chained beverage shops will also up the prices by around NT$5 by March.


The fast-food giant, McDonald's is introducing limited edition products that have consumers lining up. However, a lot of customers complained that McDonald's is getting more and more expensive.

The hourly salary in Australia is AUD$19 and it is just the basic salary. I can buy two meals with AUD$19 and have some money left. If the hourly wage is NT$158 in Taiwan, a set meal could be more expensive than that. So a meal equals an hour of labor. MacDonald's is a bit more expensive in Taiwan than in other foreign countries.

In fact, some fast-food restaurant chains have announced a price increase before the presidential election. Prices rose by an average of 3.4 percent for KFC, single order and set meal has increased by NT$3 to NT$10. The average increase for McDonald's Value Meal is 1.1 percent, around NT$1 to NT$5 increase for some products. However, some of the classic hamburgers have been lowered by NT$5. Other food service restaurants have also increased the price before the Lunar New Year. Starting from Jan. 12, the prices for potstickers from Bafang Yunji have increased about NT$0.5 to NT$0.8 each. Buffet restaurants at 5-star hotels like the Café at the Grand Hyatt Taipei and the Harbour Restaurant have also increased its price by 3 to 8 percent.

The eateries increase their price by NT$5 or NT$10. I think it's a bit too much.

Chained beverage shops are also hiking up their price after the Lunar New Year, including 50 Lan and CoCo. Beverage shops in some areas including central and southern Taiwan, are looking at an increase of NT$5 by Mar. 1.

The increase is NT$10 per cup, which exceeds the increase amount of the minimum wage. Most of the store owners can improve from within the organization. They should self-absorb the increase. This phenomenon only reflects the owners disregard the rights of the consumers.

The industry owners said the price hikes after the Lunar New Year are mainly due to the increased labor and material costs. The Consumer Protection Association calls on the Fair Trade Commission to investigate the matter to see if the food industry owners are taking advantage of the matter or if there's a joint price increase.



速食業龍頭"麥當勞"，推出限量商品，吸引大批民眾排隊搶購。不過，多數消費者反映，麥當勞售價愈來愈貴。

民眾表示：「住澳洲一個小時(時薪)，是19塊澳幣，最基本的，然後19塊澳幣，我那邊可以買兩個套餐，還有剩下的錢。可是台灣如果以它上面，一個小時(時薪)158塊的話，一個套餐可能會貴一點點，所以一個小時(時薪)等於一份(餐點)，跟台灣比國外貴一點點。」

其實連鎖速食店，在大選前就宣布調整售價，包括肯德基平均漲幅約3.4%，單點、套餐:漲了3到10元，麥當勞，超值全餐平均漲約1.1%，部分餐點漲1~5元。不過部分經典漢堡類，也同步調降5元。農曆年前餐飲業價格已悄悄漲價， 八方雲集鍋貼，從1月12號起，每顆鍋貼，漲0.5到0.8元，五星級飯店自助餐，像是台北君悅酒店凱菲屋、漢來海港餐廳都已陸續調漲餐費，漲幅3到8％不等。

民眾表示：「小吃店啦，都是五塊錢、十塊錢在調整，我覺得是漲太多了。」

另外，連鎖手搖飲料店，也傳出農曆年後喊漲，包括50嵐、CoCo，部份地區，像是"中南部"，飲料價格產品將漲5塊錢，預計3月1號調漲。

台灣消保會執行長 徐邦瀚表示：「這個一漲都是10塊錢，都已經超過這一些(基本工資調漲)幅度，很多他們業者可以做內部改善的部分，他應該要自行去吸收啦，那等於說他這樣子一個漲價，也只能反應出什麼，業者就無視消費者的一個權益。」

農曆年後物價調整，業者都是以人力成本增加，反映成本為由，不過，漲幅是否合理，消保會呼籲公平會調查，是否有業者趁機哄抬，或聯合漲價行為。