Seoul cafe owners plead for help as packaging prices surge

April 21 (Asia Today) -- South Korean cafe owners said Monday they are being pushed to the brink by soaring prices for plastic cups and packaging materials, as a spike in naphtha costs linked to the Middle East conflict ripples through the country's small-business sector.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups held a meeting with cafe operators in Seoul and promised emergency policy financing and other support measures to ease the burden.

"It is already hard enough dealing with rising coffee bean and milk prices, but now the prices of plastic cups and vinyl packaging are also jumping, and it is truly overwhelming," one cafe owner said. "We are hanging on by stacking boxes of cups even at our family homes."

Ko Jang-soo, head of the National Cafe Owners Cooperative, said prices for disposable cups and packaging containers had risen to unbearable levels because of the naphtha shock.

As supply shortages worsened, some owners have begun buying six months to a year's worth of materials in advance and storing them at home or in their cars, he said.

The strain has intensified as warmer weather boosts demand for plastic cups used for iced drinks, while some suppliers have limited purchases to one set per buyer.

One participant said customers casually take extra straws, while business owners are watching their margins collapse.

Lee Byung-kwon, second vice minister at the ministry, said the government would secure additional policy funds through a supplementary budget and introduce new support programs for small businesses.

"Even if it is difficult to directly lower container prices, we will immediately reflect policies in the field that can reduce the financial burden," Lee said.

He also sought to reassure business owners about supply conditions, saying additional naphtha volumes had been secured through routes that do not pass through the Strait of Hormuz through the end of the year. Naphtha is a petroleum-based raw material widely used to produce plastics and packaging materials such as disposable cups.

Lee said raw material supply problems would likely remain severe through May but improve significantly afterward, and urged business owners to continue normal operations.

The government also plans to strengthen a ban on hoarding petrochemical products that took effect April 15. Lee said authorities would treat stockpiling in the distribution chain as a serious offense and step up on-site inspections, warning that unnecessary panic buying could worsen the crisis.

Officials and business owners also discussed ways to ease the cost of switching to alternatives to plastic, along with a proposal under review to allow single-use packaging items to be sold for 100 won to 200 won, or about 7 cents to 14 cents, to help improve margins.

A ministry official said on-site checks would become routine and policy funding would be disbursed more quickly to prevent Middle East-related disruptions from turning into a wave of business closures.

-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260421010006627

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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 5:46 PM.