Carrefour, RT-Mart and Far Eastern Geant all have come forward with strategies to get out of the tricky price situation with increased sales shares.

The soaring prices of rice, noodles and vegetables have been at the center of their preoccupations since Minister Su Jia-chyan of the Council of Agriculture came under fire from the opposition parties on Oct. 21, for claiming that the price of vegetables nationwide had returned to normal less than two weeks after Typhoon Krosa left.

"You can buy vegetables for NT$5 at most supermarkets, so I don't understand why the public still buys cabbage NT$200 [apiece]," he said to the Apple Daily, noting that vegetables were much cheaper at supermarkets than at traditional markets.

As of Oct. 21, ruling and opposition parties both acknowledged, however, that NT$5 vegetables were nowhere to be found. For instance, Chinese white cabbage was sold in Taipei NT$70 per kilo, up from NT$37, four days before Typhoon Krosa hit Taiwan on Oct. 6.

For the last three weeks, public opinions have been very critical of the government's inability to solve the soaring price of most daily commodities. While the price hikes were said to have damaged the rights of the farmers and the costumers, the government increased controls of wholesalers, which it accused of retaining stocks in order to accumulate huge profits.

On the other hand, discount providers have launched campaigns to attract a new clientele of customers who are dissatisfied with the price of staple products at most traditional markets. Supermarkets have been especially interested in expanding their market shares on the already saturated wholesale market.

Far Eastern Geant for instance, has come forward with a "raw and fresh for a little money" campaign, during which winter melon and green papaya are both sold NT$4 per 100g.

Carrefour has also launched its staple food campaign, called "original rice flavor, good noodles look," targeting rice, noodles, spaghetti and grains of all sort. A package of high quality rice, originally sold at NT$169, is now offered at the bargaining price of NT$109.

In order to further take advantage of the favorable conditions, intensive advertisement has also been used to attract the attention of customers. Low prices, bundle offers and praised of nutritional benefits have been used to successfully enhance public attention in recent weeks.

Last Friday, the opening of the Taichung branch of Costco attracted a swarm of 20,000 people, with up to 22,000 consumers registering for membership cards in the morning in store and over the Internet. According to Costco, it was the largest number of clients who have ever signed up during an opening day of any of Costco's 523 stores worldwide.