- Title: India's glass hub dims as Gulf crisis hits exports, gas supplies
- Date: 2nd April 2026
- Summary: FIROZABAD, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (MARCH 26, 2026) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WORKER MANUALLY SPRAYING GREEN PAINT ON GLASSES FRESHLY PAINTED GLASSES BEING PLACED TO DRY WORKER PLACING WHISKEY GLASSES ON MACHINE TO BE LABELLED MAN LIFTING GLASSES MACHINE LABELLING GLASSES LABELLED GLASSES MOVING ON ASSEMBLY LINE VARIOUS OF WORKERS INSPECTING LIQUOR BOTTLES MOVING ON ASSEMBLY LINE
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: CONFLICT GAS GLASS INDUSTRY INDIA IRAN ISRAEL LPG OIL PETROLEUM TARIFFS TRUMP WAR
- Location: FIROZABAD, UTTAR PRADESH AND NEW DELHI, INDIA
- City: FIROZABAD, UTTAR PRADESH AND NEW DELHI, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001954102042026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Famed as India's "Glass City" with a four-century tradition of glassmaking, Firozabad's furnaces are now burning low, putting thousands of day labourers out of work in what would normally be peak season.
The industry has been crippled by the war in the Middle East because of its intense energy needs. Gas-fired heat chambers need to run constantly at above 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) to keep the glass molten and prevent defects.
India's heavy reliance on gas across the economy - businesses of all sizes, households, agriculture, public transport - makes its factories among the most vulnerable in Asia.
New Delhi stockpiles oil but not gas, and when supply dwindles, it cuts off industry first.
With the war extending into a second month, Firozabad could offer an early glimpse of what lies ahead for India’s manufacturing sector, from textiles to high tech, dealing a blow to India's goal of increasing manufacturing's share of the economy to 25% from around 17% currently.
Just a short drive east of the Taj Mahal, Firozabad's glassmaking furnaces sit mostly apart from the colourful marketplaces where tourists haggle over the city's hallmark glass bangles, which typically sell for about a dollar a dozen.
A furnace operator said a unit that had employed more than 500 workers until last month now had jobs for fewer than 200.
Many smaller glass artisans had shuttered shop as they waited for gas to become available, and affordable.
The effect of the gas shortage isn't linear. Furnace operators say supply cuts of more than 20% since early March have knocked output down by 40%.
India's glassware exports were on pace to rise some 3% in the financial year ending on March 31 from $4 billion in the previous period, but shipments tumbled as much as 20% last month, according to industry estimates.
Mukesh Kumar Bansal, a Firozabad manufacturer supplying retailers in the U.S. and Europe, said output had dived by more than a third at his factory.
"When there is a 20% cut in the gas supply, it forces us to cut production by about 40% because our furnace was made to operate at a specific fuel level to function efficiently. So we are operating at a 40% cut from our production capacity," he said.
For exporters already recovering from last year's U.S. tariffs, the latest disruption is hurting both production and shipments.
"First, it was the American policy, and duties for 4 to 5 months. Then, when an agreement was reached for that, this crisis (Iran war) erupted," said Raj Kumar Mittal, a Firozabad-based glass manufacturer and president of Uttar Pradesh state's glass manufacturing syndicate. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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