Indonesia Seeks New Suppliers for Plastic Raw Materials Amid Global Crisis, Trade Minister: Three Countries Already in Process

Various plastic-producing countries worldwide are currently facing a raw materials crisis due to the Middle East conflict disrupting the global supply chain. Indonesia is also seeking new sources of plastic raw materials. Trade Minister Budi Santoso stated that Indonesia has long relied on imports of naphtha as the raw material for plastic pellets from the Middle East. However, supplies from that region are currently disrupted due to the impact of the war. “So, plastic raw materials are indeed imported; for plastic pellets, it’s naphtha from the Middle East so far. Because of the war’s impact, supplies from there are automatically disrupted,” Budi said when met at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy in Jakarta on Monday, 13 April 2025. He explained that as a short-term mitigation step, the government is beginning to seek alternative supplies from several countries such as India, the United States (US), and the African region. He mentioned that communications with producers in those countries have already been conducted. “So, we have already communicated with the producers; we have indeed obtained some, but perhaps the quantity or it will take time because of the switch, and now shipping conditions due to the war are also somewhat slow,” he said. Budi added that the government is also coordinating with trade representatives abroad to help find alternative supply sources from other countries. On the other hand, he acknowledged that the current plastic raw materials crisis is global in nature. Several producing countries such as Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore are also experiencing the same production disruptions. Regarding the new sources of plastic raw materials supply, Budi said that the realisation of imports still requires time, so for the time being, the industry is still relying on available stocks. “Imports from those three countries are already being processed. But it takes time. So now it’s still in process with the existing stocks,” he said. In this regard, the government is striving to accelerate the arrival of new supplies to allay concerns among business actors and traders who are starting to be affected by rising plastic prices. Nevertheless, Budi could not yet confirm when plastic prices would stabilise again. Because this situation very much depends on the development of the global situation and the smoothness of supplies from alternative countries.