It’s not just the cooking gas prices that are increasing, but your home renovation could also be delayed and a far more expensive affair now. This is because cost and production of home decor items like tiles are also being impacted by the continuously escalating crisis across the Middle East.
The gas supply restrictions for industrial use has directly impacted ceramic tile production. According to a PTI report, as many as 430 ceramic units in Gujarat’s Morbi — known as the ceramic city and the world’s second-largest hub for ceramic tile production — will not operate for at least three weeks.
430 units shut for three weeks
In Morbi, nearly 450 out of the total 670 factories have already stopped operations due to the gas shortage, while many more are on the verge of shutting down in the coming days, a Industry official said, according to PTI.
Recently the government curtailed natural gas allocation to several industrial on the backdrop of West Asian conflict, which has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major passage for vessels.
The ceramic industry relies heavily on propane or natural gas for its operations, particularly for firing kilns and drying processes.
Earlier, Gujarat Gas had curtailed industrial gas supply to about 50%. However, following a directive from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on March 14, the supply was restored to around 80%.
Tile makers already raised prices
Nuvama Institutional Equities noted that tile manufacturers have raised prices by 5%on existing inventory. Another 10–20% hike is also is being considered due to the continued volatility in gas prices.
Speaking on ceramic manufacturer’s Business, Nuvama said that large players such as Kajaria Ceramics and Somany Ceramics are relatively better placed as they use a mix of fuels including LPG, propane, LNG, biofuels and coal. In contrast, most Morbi manufacturers use the fuel mix of roughly 70% natural gas and 30% propane.
Morbi ceramic units decide on temporary shutdown
“A special meeting of ceramic units operating at Morbi in Gujarat was convened on Tuesday, where the owners of around 430 units engaged in consultations regarding the gas crisis and ancillary issues, and collectively decided to shut down their factories,” Morbi Ceramic Manufacturing Association president Manoj Arvadiya said according to PTI.
The ceramic units using propane gas first shut their operations as its supply got exhausted. Later, those using natural gas also closed their operations, he noted, according to PTI.
“Now, around 430 such units have collectively decided not to operate till April 10-15 and use the period for maintenance of their machines. They will together begin operations subject to the availability of the new supply of gas,” Arvadiya said.
The collective, voluntary decision taken by the members of the association during the meeting entails a shutdown period of 20 to 25 days, he said.
Conclusion
This shutdown is expected to impact the livelihoods of the artisans in Morbi and also the household budgets for those planning home renovations. For the ceramic manufacturers too it is a double whammy – both in terms of rising input costs and also the supply crunch as a result of production disruptions.