West Asia Crisis: Energy Crunch Slams Firozabad Glass Industry, Output Drops 40%

The fallout from the US–Israel joint operation on Iran is now rippling through India’s industrial base, with Firozabad, the country’s “Glass City”, emerging as one of the latest casualties of the energy crunch.

The cluster, which employs over 200,000 workers directly and up to 500,000 indirectly, is grappling with acute gas supply shortages as the West Asia conflict enters its second month.

Glass manufacturing is highly energy-intensive, requiring gas-fired furnaces to operate continuously at temperatures exceeding 1,000°C to keep molten glass stable and prevent defects. Any disruption in fuel supply can quickly halt production.

India’s heavy dependence on natural gas across sectors — from industry and transport to households and agriculture — makes such clusters particularly vulnerable. Unlike crude oil, New Delhi does not maintain strategic reserves of natural gas, and when supplies tighten, industry is typically the first to face curbs.

Production Hit

According to industry participants cited by Reuters, gas supplies to Firozabad units have been cut by over 20% since early March, leading to a nearly 40% drop in output.

The timing could hardly be worse. The March–August period is typically when manufacturers ramp up production to meet export demand for Christmas and Halloween. This year, however, producers told New Agency not a single export container moved last month.

The disruption is not limited to fuel shortages. India’s export logistics — heavily reliant on Gulf shipping routes — have also been hit, with freight and insurance costs rising sharply amid heightened geopolitical risks. Unlike countries such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, which have more diversified logistics networks, Indian exporters remain particularly exposed to disruptions in the Gulf.

Sector Under Pressure

India’s glassware exports had been on track to grow by around 3% in the financial year ended March 31, from $4 billion in the previous year. However, shipments fell by as much as 20% last month, according to industry estimates.

The glass industry’s growth is closely linked to demand from the construction and automobile sectors, both of which could feel second-order effects if supply disruptions persist.

Beyond Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, key MSME glass clusters are spread across Jaipur (Rajasthan), Ambala (Haryana), Vadodara (Gujarat), Hyderabad (Telangana), Pune (Maharashtra) and Purdinagar (Uttar Pradesh).

Firozabad remains the largest hub for glass melting industries in India, producing container glass, bangles and decorative items through energy-intensive melting processes.