The war between Iran and the United States that is currently underway\nhas caused disruptions to the distribution of crude oil and\npetrochemicals through the Strait of Hormuz. This not only drives up oil\nand fuel prices but also impacts the rise in plastic prices.<\/p>\n
Quoted from Reuters, the surge in crude oil and raw material prices\nsince the Iran-United States war began has caused prices of plastics\nsuch as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) to skyrocket. Global\nlogistics have also been disrupted, with around 50% of PE supplies\nhalted, limited, or affected.<\/p>\n
So, why does the disruption in crude oil distribution affect plastic\nprices? What is the connection between the two? See the explanation\nbelow!<\/p>\n
Where Does Plastic Come From?<\/p>\n
Oil supply and prices can affect plastic prices because one of the\nraw materials for plastic is crude oil. Quoted from the Center for\nInternational Environmental Law website, more than 99% of plastics are\nmade from chemicals derived from fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
According to information from Live Science, plastic is made from\nmolecules called polymers. The polymers that form plastic can come from\nnatural sources, such as corn starch, vegetable fats, to bacteria. In\naddition, plastic can also be made from crude oil and natural gas.<\/p>\n
The process of making plastic from crude oil begins with extracting\nhydrocarbons in the form of crude oil from within the earth. Crude oil\nis then heated to separate the hydrocarbons into several groups based on\nthe number of atoms and their molecular weight.<\/p>\n
The result of this separation will produce several different chemical\ngroups, such as petroleum, gasoline, to paraffin. Petroleum or natural\ngas is then distilled to produce naphtha, a chemical substance that\nbecomes one of the main ingredients of plastic.<\/p>\n
Quoted from the Desu Tech website, crude oil is not only used as a\nraw material for plastic. The results of crude oil distillation are also\nneeded as energy to drive the plastic processing process, such as\npolymerisation, extrusion, to resin pellet production. Based on an\narticle from the Journal of Mechanics and Thermal Systems by Surono and\nIsmanto, around 1.75 kg of crude oil is needed to make 1 kg of plastic,\nboth as raw material and fuel\/energy in plastic processing.<\/p>\n
How Do Oil Prices Affect Plastic Prices?<\/p>\n
Summarised from the Desu Tech and MIT Technology Review websites,\nplastic supply and prices are influenced by several factors, ranging\nfrom rises in crude oil and energy prices, geopolitical conflicts,\ntransportation and logistics costs, to increased demand.<\/p>\n
Geopolitical conflicts, especially in areas that are major producers\nof oil and petrochemical raw materials, become one of the factors that\nsignificantly impact the supply of oil and petrochemical materials for\nmaking plastic. Such situations can hinder supply delivery routes, raw\nmaterial exports-imports, to production capacity.<\/p>\n
The Middle East, for example, now produces 20% of the global naphtha\nsupply and is a supplier to around 40% of the Asian market. The war\noccurring in Iran has ultimately caused naphtha prices to rise, even\nreaching 50% in March 2026.<\/p>\n
This condition has led to a global increase in plastic prices. Prices\nof polypropylene, which is made from naphtha and used in making bottle\ncaps to food containers, continue to rise, especially in Asia.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s largest bottled water supplier recently announced that it\nwill raise prices by up to 11% after packaging prices rose by up to 70%.\nThis situation will also affect other products, such as daily\nnecessities to plastic toys.<\/p>\n
Ways to Respond to Rising Plastic Prices<\/p>\n
In facing the problem of rising plastic prices, the best step that\ncan be taken is to reduce its use as much as possible, especially\nsingle-use plastic. You can maximise the repeated use of containers and\nbags. In addition, you can also switch to various alternatives to\nreplace plastic bags\/packaging, such as banana leaves, woven bamboo,\npalm leaves, teak leaves, paper, and so on.<\/p>\n
Thus, the explanation of why crude oil affects plastic prices.\nHopefully it answers your curiosity!<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/why-does-crude-oil-affect-plastic-prices-heres-the-explanation-1775703061", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }