The global packaging industry is being hit by the Iran war through higher plastic prices, disrupted shipping and rising energy costs. The immediate pressure is strongest in plastic packaging, where producers depend on petrochemical feedstocks and shipping routes linked to the Gulf.
As the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, resin supply has tightened, freight costs have risen and buyers in food, drink, beauty and household goods are paying more for jars, films, bottles and tubes.
The scale of the shock is significant. Reuters, citing Rabobank, reported that petrochemical products worth about $20 billion to $25 billion pass through the Strait of Hormuz each year.
Reuters also reported that the Middle East accounted for more than 40% of global polyethylene exports in 2025, while S&P Global said the region represents close to 25% of global polypropylene and polyethylene exports.
That matters to packaging because polyethylene and polypropylene are core materials for flexible packaging, caps, tubs, closures and many rigid packs.
Plastic prices rise
The clearest effect is in polymers. Reuters reported on 26 March that prices for polyethylene and polypropylene had climbed to about four-year highs after disruptions to oil and petrochemical flows through Hormuz tightened global supply.
On the Dalian Commodity Exchange, polyethylene had risen nearly 37% since late February and polypropylene more than 38%.
This is now feeding directly into packaging costs. FoodNavigator reported that food and drink account for about 40% of global plastic packaging demand, making the sector especially exposed to higher resin costs and shrinking feedstock availability.
In practical terms, that means higher prices for pouches, trays, bottle formats and protective films used across food and beverage supply chains.
Market participants say availability is as much of a problem as price. A European trader told S&P Global that “producers are declining to confirm offers” as volatility increases.
Reuters quoted Dow chief executive Jim Fitterling saying “global logistics have become uncertain”, with up to 50% of polyethylene supply either offline, constrained or affected by the conflict.
Together, those comments show why converters and brand owners are struggling to secure material on normal terms.
Shipping routes tighten
The second blow is logistics. Reuters reported from Cosmoprof in Bologna that the war is pushing up the cost of “plastic jars and lipstick tubes” as well as transport, while shipping delays and lower container availability are forcing some companies to reroute cargo or switch to air freight.
This is important for the wider packaging sector, not only for cosmetics, because the same transport constraints affect packaging inputs moving into Europe, Asia and other import-dependent markets.
S&P Global reported that transit through Hormuz had “essentially stopped” for many container movements from the Persian Gulf, with major carriers suspending shipments and exporters withdrawing offers.
Buyers in Africa, Turkey and other markets have become sceptical about lead times, while some suppliers have explored overland alternatives that traders described as difficult to execute at scale.
The wider manufacturing picture points in the same direction. Reuters reported on 1 April that factories worldwide faced soaring input costs and delivery delays in March because the conflict had disrupted global logistics networks.
In Britain, delivery delays linked to ships avoiding Hormuz were the longest since mid-2022. For packaging buyers, this means a market where lead times are harder to predict and short-notice sourcing is more expensive.
Costs spread beyond plastics
The impact is not limited to polymers. Metal packaging is also exposed. Reuters reported on 30 March that aluminium prices climbed to a four-year high after Iranian strikes hit major Middle East smelters.
Benchmark aluminium on the London Metal Exchange reached $3,492 a tonne, affecting a metal widely used in beverage cans, closures, aerosols and foil applications. Shipments to Europe and the United States were already restricted by the conflict and the closure of Hormuz.
Those material costs are now feeding into broader inflation. The Guardian reported that the UK Food and Drink Federation expects food inflation could reach at least 9% this year even if Hormuz reopens within weeks, with businesses already facing steep rises in energy, transport and packaging costs.
The federation’s chief economist, Liliana Danila, described the situation as “unprecedented and hard to predict”. That comment captures the problem for packaging buyers: this is no longer a narrow resin story, but a wider cost shock running through energy, freight and finished goods.
For the global packaging industry, the Iran war has exposed how dependent the sector remains on Gulf feedstocks and uninterrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Plastic prices, packaging costs and packaging supply chain risk have all moved in the same direction.
Unless raw material flows and vessel traffic normalise, converters, packaging manufacturers and packaged goods producers are likely to face further cost pressure in the second quarter.
