Middle East War Drives Up Polyester Prices, Textile Entrepreneurs Cry Out

The Indonesian Textile Association (API) has stated that the ongoing war in the Middle East between the United States-Israel and Iran is affecting the textile industry. API’s Government Relations officer, Geraldi Halomoan, explained that the textile sector is impacted because clothing raw materials rely on polyester. He elaborated that polyester raw materials are derived from petroleum derivatives. Therefore, increases in petroleum prices also affect industry operations. “If, for example, petroleum prices rise due to the Middle East war, the domestic polyester price will automatically increase,” he said after a meeting with Commission VI at the DPR RI building in Jakarta on Monday (30/3/2026). He explained that the rising prices of polyester raw materials, including paraxylene (PX), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and monoethylene glycol (MEG), are greatly needed domestically. “In particular, the need for polyester is not small. It’s substantial because most of our clothing is made from polyester. And by polyester, I don’t mean our clothes are purely polyester, but for example, polyester mixed with tas, polyester mixed with rayon. So the need for polyester is quite high,” he clarified. Furthermore, he expressed concerns among textile business players influenced by logistics costs, which are heavily affected by fuel oil (BBM). “But if it’s an indirect impact, for example, to move logistics, we need petrol and so on. That will greatly disrupt performance and productivity in Indonesia,” he concluded.