Deputy Trade Minister: Government reviewing subsidies for plastic industry
Surabaya (ANTARA) - Deputy Trade Minister (Wamendag) Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri stated that the government is reviewing the provision of subsidies for the plastic industry to maintain price stability while strengthening raw material supplies amid global dynamics.
“For this (plastic prices), insha’Allah, we are striving to find a solution, because in principle, plastic prices are heavily dependent on naphtha, which affects production costs,” said Dyah Roro at Airlangga University (Unair) in Surabaya on Tuesday.
She explained that the subsidy option is currently being discussed with the Coordinating Minister for the Economy as a step to suppress plastic prices in the market.
According to her, the policy is expected to have a positive impact on overall prices, while also ensuring the sustainability of the national plastic industry.
In addition, the government is preparing long-term measures by seeking alternative naphtha sources that are not affected by global geopolitical conditions.
These efforts are aimed at enabling domestic industries to have supply resilience, so they are not easily impacted by international price fluctuations.
On the other hand, Roro also emphasised the importance of strengthening entrepreneurship through collaboration with universities and business associations.
She mentioned that the contribution of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) reaches around 60 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), thus having great potential for further development.
Through the “Campus Preneur” programme, the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) is working to increase entrepreneurship literacy while opening market access, both domestically and for exports.
“If for foreign markets, we have facilities through Trade Attachés and the Indonesia Trade Promotion Center to help market products,” she said.
She added that synergy between the government, associations, and universities is key to improving human resource quality and driving national economic growth.