Industry Minister Confident Strait of Hormuz Agreement Will Normalise Plastic Supply
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita is confident that the agreement between the United States and Iran regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz could help restore the global ecosystem and logistics for plastic raw material supplies.
“If we look at it, hopefully what becomes the agreement between America and Iran regarding the opening of the Strait of Hormuz can return to normalising the ecosystem as well as logistics,” he said when met in Jakarta on Thursday.
According to him, with improving global logistics conditions, the government is optimistic that the needs for plastic raw materials for the domestic industry can be stably fulfilled again, so that production activities remain maintained.
“This is so that the plastic needs for our business actors can be fulfilled,” he added.
Furthermore, the current plastic supply disruptions are still within reasonable limits and have been anticipated through raw material substitution steps discussed with industry players.
“I think plastic is reasonable if there is a slight problem regarding supply, but there is a substitution that we have indeed discussed with business actors,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iran announced on Thursday two alternative routes for ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, citing the risk of sea mines in some parts of the vital waterway.
“All ships intending to cross the Strait of Hormuz are advised to take alternative routes to ensure maritime safety and avoid potential sea mine hazards,” said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a statement quoted by local media.
That step was taken after Iran agreed to temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s main oil shipping routes that usually handles one-fifth of global crude oil supplies, as part of a two-week ceasefire.
Previously, Industry Minister Agus also emphasised that the government continues to strive for diversification of raw materials to even encouraging the use of recycling to maintain national plastic availability amid global geopolitical pressures.
In response to the dynamics of prices and supplies of plastic raw materials, Agus, in a statement confirmed in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/4), explained that the escalation of conflict in the Middle East region has affected the global petrochemical industry supply chain, particularly on naphtha commodities which are the main raw material for plastic.