Aiming to Reduce Petrochemical Imports, Industry Minister: Plastic Stock Should Not Be a Problem

Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita explained that the government aims to gradually reduce imports of raw materials for plastic production, namely petrochemicals, especially from the Middle East. Disruptions in the supply of plastic raw materials have arisen due to unrest in the Strait of Hormuz. “This incident further underscores the importance of building a strong and independent national petrochemical industry, so that dependence on imported raw materials can continue to be reduced,” said Agus, quoted from Kompas.com, on Thursday (16/4/2026) during a meeting with upstream petrochemical industry players. The Ministry of Industry will assess the economic challenges of using CPO as a raw material for plastic production. “We must examine all national resource potentials that can serve as alternative raw materials for the petrochemical industry, including CPO, although the economic challenges still need to be calculated carefully,” he explained. Agus responded positively to this proposal, with the government ready to ensure national manufacturing resilience. “The Ministry of Industry will continue to be present alongside industry players in safeguarding the resilience of the national manufacturing sector against global dynamics,” he stated. “From the meeting results, we received assurances from the industry that plastic stocks should not be a problem. I emphasise the word ‘should’, because the government will continue to monitor global developments that impact production and stocks in this subsector carefully,” he added. “The price of plastic raw materials, which was previously around $1,000 per metric tonne, has now risen to $1,800 per metric tonne. That means an increase of nearly 80 percent,” explained Inaplas General Secretary Fajar Budiono on Wednesday (15/4/2026). “For almost 20 days, we focused on Lebaran distribution. As soon as the market returned to normal, prices skyrocketed and business players were caught off guard,” he said. According to Fajar, the priority now is to ensure supply first, with prices expected to adjust later.