April 17, 2026 | 07:03 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Indonesia’s Trade Minister Budi Santoso said a recent uptick in cooking oil prices is linked to disruptions in plastic packaging supply, driven by global petrochemical constraints.
“There has been a slight increase because most packaging relies on plastic,” Budi said at JIEXpo Kemayoran in Jakarta on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
The minister pointed to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has disrupted global petrochemical supply chains, particularly naphtha, a key raw material for plastic production. The disruption has driven up plastic prices and affected supply, with downstream impacts on packaged goods such as cooking oil.
According to data from the Ministry of Trade, the price of Minyakita, a government-backed subsidized cooking oil brand, stood at Rp15,974 per liter, up 0.03 percent from April 15. Premium cooking oil rose 0.06 percent to Rp21,706 per liter, while bulk cooking oil increased 0.18 percent to Rp19,437 per liter.
Despite the price increases, Budi stressed that overall supply remains sufficient. He said commercial cooking oil, including second-tier brands and premium products, is widely available in the market.
However, he acknowledged that Minyakita supply is more limited, as its production depends on the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) policy that requires palm oil producers to allocate a portion of their output for domestic needs.
Budi cautioned against using Minyakita as the sole benchmark for national cooking oil conditions. “When Minyakita becomes more expensive, people assume all cooking oil is expensive. When it is scarce, they think there is a shortage. In fact, supply is still ample, especially for other brands,” he said.
To address supply issues, Budi said he has coordinated with Ghimoyo, CEO of state food holding ID Food, regarding producers’ obligation to distribute at least 35 percent of output for Minyakita. The government is also open to facilitating business-to-business (B2B) arrangements if producers plan to increase Minyakita supply to between 65 and 70 percent.
“Many private distributors are also operating. All stakeholders are working together without major issues,” said Budi, a politician from the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Earlier, Ghimoyo revealed that PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (Persero), or ID Food, has begun facing difficulties in securing plastic packaging materials.
“We’re already feeling the impact as a food producer, particularly in sourcing packaging,” he said during a hearing with Commission IV of the House of Representatives (DPR) on April 7.
Ghimoyo explained that the plastic shortage stems from limited supplies of raw plastic materials, or resin, as a result of the Middle East conflict. He emphasized that plastic packaging is critical across sectors, including food and agriculture.
“This is a serious issue because food products, fertilizers, and rice all rely on plastic packaging,” he said.
Read: Indonesia's Trade Minister Rejects Claims of Cooking Oil Shortage
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