Industry Minister Meets Plastic Producers, States Stock is Secure

JAKARTA - The Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita stated that domestic plastic producers have guaranteed a secure plastic stock.

Agus made this statement after gathering industry players in the plastic sector, from upstream to downstream and recycling levels, on Thursday (16/4/2026).

The meeting discussed the condition of the petrochemical raw material supply chain and mitigation of the impact from the war in West Asia that has closed the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in the disruption of plastic raw material supplies, including naphtha.

According to Agus, the industry players attending the meeting committed to maintaining plastic supplies, particularly for small industries.

His side understands that the war between the United States (US) and Israel against Iran is disrupting the domestic plastic price structure.

Plastic prices are rising due to increased logistics and transportation costs, the implementation of premium surcharges, and longer delivery times.

Furthermore, Agus emphasised that the current geopolitical situation serves as an important lesson for building self-reliance in the domestic petrochemical industry.

Raw materials for various commodities need to be provided domestically so as not to depend on other countries.

“This incident further underscores the importance of building a strong and independent national petrochemical industry, so that dependence on imported raw materials can continue to be reduced,” said Agus.

Although the price of CPO is currently relatively high, this plantation product could be a viable option to develop in order to reduce import dependency.

“We must look at all national resource potentials that can serve as alternative raw materials for the petrochemical industry, including CPO, although the economic challenges still need to be calculated carefully,” Agus stated.

The Golkar Party politician mentioned that limited raw material supplies will make competition among countries for petrochemical raw materials increasingly tight.