List of Ethylene Glycol Supplying Countries to Indonesia, Saudi Arabia the Largest

Based on data from The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), in 2020 Indonesia imported US$147 million worth of ethylene glycol.

The largest suppliers of ethylene glycol to Indonesia in 2020 were Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, India, and the United Arab Emirates, with the supply values detailed in the graph.

According to the OEC, ethylene glycol is commonly used to make synthetic materials such as polyester and polyurethane plastics. This chemical is also used in the production of brake fluid, vehicle oil, antifreeze in vehicle radiators, pen ink, and others.

The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) states that ethylene glycol is dangerous if ingested by humans.

"If swallowed in large quantities, ethylene glycol can cause three health impacts: central nervous system depression, cardiopulmonary disorders, and kidney damage," the NLM stated on its official website.

Ironically, the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) has recently found that a number of syrup medicines contain ethylene glycol. This is suspected to have caused acute kidney injury in hundreds of children.

"The Ministry of Health has researched that toddlers affected by AKI (acute kidney injury) were detected to have three dangerous chemicals: ethylene glycol (EG), diethylene glycol (DEG), and ethylene glycol butyl ether (EGBE)," said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in a short message received by the Katadata editorial team on Thursday (20/10/2022).

"Several types of syrup medicines used by toddlers affected by AKI have been proven to contain EG, DEG, and EGBE, which should not be present or should be present in very small amounts in syrup medicines," he continued.

"While waiting for the drug authority or BPOM to finalize their quantitative research results, the Ministry of Health is taking a conservative position by temporarily banning the use of syrup medicines. Considering that toddlers identified with AKI have reached 70 per month with a fatality rate approaching 50%," concluded Minister Budi.