Jakarta, April 16 -- Trade Minister Budi Santoso conveyed plans to explore alternative suppliers of plastic raw materials to maintain domestic supply and price stability amidst pressures on the global supply chain.

He explained that naphtha, the main raw material for plastic pellets, has been sourced from the Middle East.

However, recent global conditions have resulted in longer shipping times and increasingly intense competition between countries for this material.

"The raw material for plastic pellets, naphtha, has been sourced from the Middle East. Now we have alternatives from Africa, India, and the United States," he spoke to ANTARA at the ANTARA Heritage Center in Jakarta on Thursday.

Santoso addressed that global logistics disr...