Cooking Oil Prices Rise Triggered by Plastic Packaging, Here's the Cause

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The surge in plastic packaging prices is said to be triggering the rise in domestic cooking oil prices, particularly for the premium and bulk segments of palm cooking oil (MGS). The government has acknowledged that this price pressure is linked to the high cost of plastic packaging raw materials. Executive Director of the Palm Oil Agribusiness Strategic Policy Institute (PASPI), Tungkot Sipayung, explained that the increase in domestic cooking oil prices stems from the conflict in the Middle East between the United States (US) and Israel with Iran, which has driven a nearly twofold spike in global fossil fuel prices. “Global fossil fuel prices have risen from around $60 per barrel before the war to more than $110 per barrel. As a result, all derivative products from fossil fuels, such as plastics, have experienced increases,” Tungkot said in his statement on Thursday (23/4/2026). He stated that the surge in plastic packaging prices then impacts the rise in domestic cooking oil prices, which is considered to have broad implications given that Indonesia is the world’s largest producer and consumer of palm cooking oil. According to Tungkot, palm cooking oil is consumed by around 280 million people in Indonesia. “If the availability of the oil is not an issue, but the factor is from the plastics,” said Budi Santoso when met at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Food, Jakarta, on Tuesday (21/4/2026). Based on data from the Market and Basic Needs Monitoring System (SP2KP) of the Ministry of Trade, the national average price of premium cooking oil as of 21 April has approached Rp 22,000 per litre. According to Budi, the issue of expensive plastics needs to be resolved immediately. The Ministry of Trade is said to be continuously communicating with plastic industry players who are still producing packaging with imported raw materials. He hopes that plastic production will continue without disruptions so that packaging material prices in the market can decrease. “It shouldn’t be that distribution remains expensive later; if production is normal, distributors must also adjust,” Budi said. Tungkot outlined that there are three types of palm cooking oil consumed by the public domestically, namely premium packaged MGS with various brands, MinyaKita MGS for low-income communities and SMEs, and bulk MGS used by the food industry.