Rising Plastic Prices Squeeze Profits for Cake Sellers and Street Food Vendors

JAKARTA — Several traders are complaining about the rise in plastic prices over the past few days. This price surge is seen as squeezing profits because small business operators find it difficult to increase selling prices to consumers.

One ape cake seller, Songlet (40), said that plastic prices began to rise after Ramadan, although the increase was initially gradual.

“Yes, if plastic prices go up, shopping expenses get bigger, but profits thin out because we can’t raise prices,” said Songlet when met in the Kramat Jati area on Saturday (11/4/2026).

She explained that it is difficult to raise prices because most of her customers are schoolchildren who buy in small quantities.

Songlet admitted that she has been forced to reduce her profit margins to retain customers. She has even tried using paper as a substitute for plastic, although it is considered ineffective.

However, according to her, using paper is not a long-term solution because it is only suitable for small purchases.

“It’s difficult too because we’re already dependent on it; paper is only enough for two or three apes, but sometimes people buy more,” she explained.

Similar complaints were voiced by Ario, a leker cake seller who is also affected by the rise in plastic prices. He said that plastic prices have experienced a fairly high surge.

“It’s quite impactful, especially since we still rely on plastic for trading; now the increase is already high, initially Rp12,000 rising to around Rp20,000,” he said when met in Kramat Jati.

According to Ario, the rise in plastic prices is also pressuring income because several other raw materials have increased as well.

“Actually, it’s not just plastic that’s rising but others too, but plastic is the most noticeable. Shopping becomes expensive but profits are thin,” he explained.

According to him, the rise in plastic prices burdens traders because they cannot immediately raise food prices.

“If we keep raising prices, they might switch to something like banana fronds, but that’s a process, sir. This is the government’s task in the future to anticipate and mitigate when there’s a crisis like this,” he explained.