treet hawkers and small-scale vendors are being squeezed by soaring plastic prices, forcing them to raise prices, shrink portions or absorb thinner profits.
Since February, plastic prices have surged by 40 to 100 percent due to global supply disruptions caused by the United States-Israel war on Iran, hitting essential items such as packaging cups, plastic bags and boxes widely used by micro and small enterprises.
Yayat Ruchyat, a tofu and tempeh producer in Parepare, South Sulawesi, said the surge in plastic prices has placed him in a difficult position: raising prices could weaken consumers’ purchasing power and hurt sales, while keeping prices unchanged would further erode his already thin margins.
“We don’t want to raise prices, so we had no choice but to stop producing smaller-sized tempeh and reduce the size of larger ones,” he said on Thursday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Yayat briefly considered switching to banana leaves as an alternative packaging material, but abandoned the idea after finding it even more expensive.
He hopes the government will step in to help stabilize plastic prices and support the sustainability of small businesses.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning.
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