Amid West Asia tensions, Firozabad’s glass and bangle industry stares at shutdown

AGRA: Amid the West Asia war, Firozabad’s traditional glass and bangle industry that currently provides employment to around 1.5 lakh people from across India is facing tremendous challenges to keep up production, largely due to affected gas supplies and halt in raw materials from Iran.

As many as 200 units in the city depend on Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) to run the furnaces and, according to industry members, cuts in its supply by almost 20% have directly affected operations.

“So, with furnaces unable to run at optimal capacity, as many as 50% units have decided to temporarily halt production, while several others are on the brink,” a member of the city’s glass manufacturing syndicate told TOIon Sat. Deepak Gupta, another senior syndicate member, said in addition to cuts in natural gas, the chemicals used in the industry have also turned expensive.

“To sell these products at current prices is a huge challenge. The ministry of petroleum recently issued directives mandating a 20% reduction in the gas quota allocated to these factory units. As a result, the production capacity of these glass factories has been compromised, and its costs have surged. RLNG prices are also expected to go up, which is a matter of grave concern for factory owners. Rise in production costs is impacting sales negatively,” said Gupta. Situated around 60 km away from Agra, Firozabad is the hub of India’s glass industry.

Official data states that this sector usually provides both direct and indirect employment to an estimated 5-7 lakh people overall, which supports the livelihood of over 50,000 families.

The glass industry has survived several past challenges. In 1996, industrial units there were either asked to shudown or switch to environment-friendly natural gas after the Supreme Court “banned the use of coal and coke by industries within the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) — which included Agra, Mathura, Firozabad and part of Bharatpur — to protect the Taj Mahal from industrial pollution”.

The industry gradually shifted to natural gas. And more than 200 glass units here rely heavily on this gas for production now.

Notably, it consumes nearly 1.5million cubic metres daily to keep the furnaces running. “Apart from gas, the other challenge is the halt in import of soda ash from Iran, a primary ingredient used in glass manufacturing,” said Binny Mittal, who runs a large glass unit in the city.

Industry embers also said that since the Strait of Hormuz is now under attack, the logistics cost to send orders would increase substantially as the shipment starts sending consignments via the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa -- en route thousands of kms. With concerns of the war escalating further, local trade groups warned that such a continued disruption could severely batter this traditional and famed industry in Uttar Pradesh.