ID Food Boss Candid on Difficulties in Obtaining Plastic Packaging
The President Director of PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (Persero), or ID Food, Ghimoyo, has shared that his company is beginning to face difficulties in obtaining plastic packaging products. “It’s being felt on our side as a food player, namely difficulties with packaging,” Ghimoyo said during a working meeting with Commission IV of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, 7 April 2026.
Ghimoyo stated that the plastic crisis is occurring because producer factories are starting to experience shortages of raw materials or plastic pellets, impacted by the Middle East conflict. According to him, plastic packaging is vital for food products such as rice and cooking oil, as well as fertiliser. “This is more crucial because it affects all food, all fertiliser, all rice that uses plastic sacks,” he explained.
Prices of plastic in Indonesia have sharply increased in recent times due to disruptions in naphtha supplies, a derivative of petroleum that serves as the main raw material in plastic production, imported from the Middle East. The Iran-Israel war has disrupted the distribution of energy and chemicals in the region, triggering price rises in the global market.
Trade Minister Budi Santoso previously stated that the government is seeking alternative naphtha sources to ensure smooth supplies and stabilise domestic prices. “Indeed, one of our plastic raw materials is naphtha, which must be imported from the Middle East. Meanwhile, the Middle East is currently affected by the Iran-Israel and US war,” he said when met after a visit to Sukoharjo Regency, Central Java, on Thursday, 2 April 2026.
Budi mentioned that at least three countries are being considered as alternative suppliers of the plastic raw material: Africa, India, and America. Negotiations with naphtha suppliers from those three countries are underway, although resolving contracts and distribution will still take time.
In addition to supply issues from the Middle East, Budi revealed that several countries that have been major global producers and suppliers of plastic are also facing production constraints.
Several facilities in Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, and Taiwan have reportedly declared force majeure, rendering them unable to fulfil supply contracts. “So this is indeed a global problem. Hopefully the war ends and everything can return to normal later,” he said.
Zubaedah, 47, one of the plastic shop owners in the Sukoharjo area, recounted that the plastic price surge has been felt since before Eid al-Fitr 2026. “Before last Eid, plastic prices rose by an average of around 30 percent. After Eid, they rose again by an average of up to around 70 percent,” she said when contacted by Tempo.
She gave examples: for some good-quality plastic brands, which previously cost Rp 7,000 per pack for a certain size, now cost Rp 10,000 per pack. Another brand for plastic cups of a certain size, previously Rp 8,000 per pack, now Rp 13,000 per pack.