Plastic Prices Rise, Staple Goods Prices in Cilegon Remain Stable

NATIONAL INFO - The rise in plastic prices in the market has not significantly impacted the prices of essential basic goods (bapokting) in Cilegon City. The stability of these prices is inseparable from traders’ strategies of holding prices to maintain community purchasing power.

The Head of Trade at the Cilegon City Industry and Trade Department, Ahmad Fitriadi, stated that monitoring results in the markets show no increase in selling prices. Even though plastic packaging costs have risen.

“Traders prefer to reduce profits rather than raise prices. This is what keeps bapokting prices stable,” he said on Thursday, 16 April 2026.

According to him, the additional cost from the plastic rise is relatively small because it is calculated per sheet. In a pack of plastic containing dozens of sheets, the price increase is only around Rp3,000 to Rp10,000, so it does not heavily burden the selling price per product.

“Some traders also make adjustments by reducing the quantity or net weight of goods without changing the price. Especially for products that use plastic packaging like wet cakes and dry cakes,” he said.

Based on data from the Cilegon City Industry and Trade Department, out of 52 commodities monitored daily, only four have experienced increases, namely large red chillies, green bird’s eye chillies, mackerel fish, and carrots. Meanwhile, two commodities have seen decreases, namely red bird’s eye chillies and chicken eggs.

“Overall, price conditions are still under control and not significantly affected by the rise in plastic prices,” he said.