Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs announced an increase in electricity prices, effective from April 1. Three domestic major stainless steel mills, Yieh United Steel Corp. (Yusco), Tang Eng Iron Works Co., Ltd., and Walsin Lihwa, produce steel coils by using electric furnaces, which consume a huge amount of electricity. Therefore, the power cost must be increased a lot and will affect products’ prices as well.

It was roughly expected that the production cost per ton of steel will increase by at least NT$600/ton, depending on the company. The increase in costs should be passed on to the product price, but the current weak demand putd steel mills in difficulty.