Sharp Rise in Plastic Prices, Culinary SMEs Most Affected

JAKARTA — The recent surge in plastic prices has become a new pressure point for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), especially in the food and beverage sector that heavily depends on single-use packaging.

The price increase, reaching tens to even hundreds of percent, not only impacts production costs but also creates serious dilemmas in maintaining business sustainability.

The rise in plastic prices is occurring amid global turbulence affecting raw material supplies and energy prices.

An expert in cooperative and MSME economics from Airlangga University (UNAIR), Atik Purmiyati, revealed that the plastic price increase in Indonesia ranges from 30% to 80% up to April 2026.

According to her, this surge is inseparable from global geopolitical conflicts impacting world oil supplies.

“The increase is due to the main raw materials for plastic production in Indonesia relying on imports by 60%,” she stated, quoted from UNAIR’s official website, Friday (10/4/2026).

A similar situation was conveyed by an economics expert from the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), M Sri Wahyudi Suliswanto.

He assessed that the plastic price surge of up to 100% is triggered by rises in crude oil prices and raw materials due to global conflicts.

“Our country is highly dependent on imports of plastic raw materials. When geopolitical turbulence disrupts international distribution routes and triggers surges in crude oil prices, domestic prices are immediately squeezed,” Wahyudi emphasised.

Atik explained that this situation exacerbates the burden on MSMEs that already have limited capital and resources.

“The rise in plastic prices will add to production costs and can erode business profits,” she said.

Meanwhile, Wahyudi views the high dependence on plastic as making the culinary MSME sector the most vulnerable. He noted that plastic packaging is an unavoidable need in the daily operations of small businesses.