Gas crisis pushes ceramics industry to the brink
Five lakh jobs, Tk20,000cr investment at risk as factories struggle to maintain production
Highlights:
- Gas shortages have pushed Bangladesh's ceramics industry into severe crisis
- More than 30 factories face severe gas supply disruptions
- Production has fallen to around 35% of overall capacity
- Several factories have shut lines and sent workers home
- Rising costs and disruptions are hurting exports and domestic supplies
- Prolonged shortages could trigger wider financial and employment crises
The country's prolonged gas crisis has pushed the ceramics industry to the brink, forcing some factories to shut production lines while others operate at less than half their capacity.
Industry leaders said more than 30 ceramics, tiles and sanitaryware factories in major industrial belts including Gazipur, Narayanganj, Savar, Dhamrai, Narsingdi, Mymensingh, and Habiganj are facing severe gas shortages.
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They said ceramics factories require around 15 pounds per square inch (PSI), but pressure has frequently dropped to 3-4 PSI and, at times, fallen to zero for most of the past month, forcing many factories to operate at only 34-40% capacity.
Overall production in the ceramics sector has fallen to around 35%. The crisis is also driving up production costs, reducing exports, disrupting domestic supplies and prompting foreign buyers to cancel or cut orders.
"If the situation doesn't improve quickly, factories will fall into a severe financial crisis. Imports may also rise as domestic production declines," said Irfan Uddin, secretary of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCMEA).
Gas accounts for around 12% of ceramic production costs, according to the BCMEA. Kilns require uninterrupted gas supply for about 24 hours as sudden pressure drops can damage or destroy products inside them.
Once a kiln is shut down, it takes another 48-72 hours to restart after gas pressure returns to normal, making intermittent supply particularly damaging for manufacturers.
The disruption is therefore making it increasingly difficult for factories to maintain production, fulfil export orders and ensure regular supplies to the domestic market.
Artisan Ceramics, which exports tableware to Europe and other international markets, has seen its production fall by around 35% because of the gas crisis.
The company's Gazipur factory has a daily production capacity of seven tonnes. It has taken a Palli Bidyut electricity connection as an alternative source of energy to keep production running, but frequent load-shedding is creating additional problems.
"The gas and electricity crisis has increased our production costs by 35-40%," said Mamunur Rashid, chief executive officer of Artisan Ceramics.
"Production has been disrupted due to the gas and electricity crisis, causing exports to fall by around 35-40%. We have also had to reduce the orders we accept. Buyers are becoming frustrated. We are worried whether they will give us orders next year," he said.
Factories shut, workers sent on leave
Great Wall Ceramic Industries' tile factory in Sreepur, Gazipur, has been shut for a week, cutting production by around 40,000 square metres a day. Most workers are sent on leave.
Its sanitaryware factory in Habiganj normally produces about 100,000 toilets, basins and other sanitary products a month. However, its production has fallen by around 35%.
An official of Great Wall said the company normally keeps a tile stock equivalent to one to one-and-a-half months' sales.
"Production has been disrupted for almost a month due to the gas crisis. As a result, we cannot meet market demand, and sales have already declined. If the situation does not improve within the next one or two weeks, sales could come to a complete halt," he said.
Leading ceramics manufacturer RAK Ceramics was forced to shut all four production units for eight consecutive days due to the gas crisis. One unit resumed operations last Friday, leaving the company running at roughly 25% of capacity.
RAK Ceramics Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Khorshed Alam said the company had yet to calculate the losses caused by the shutdown.
The disruption has also hit Mir Ceramics in Sreepur, Gazipur. Three of its four production units have remained shut for 17 days, cutting daily tile output from a capacity of around 300,000 square feet to just 50,000 square feet. Most of the factory's 800 workers are on leave. An official of Mir Ceramics said gas pressure was sufficient to operate only one unit.
Meghna Group of Industries' ceramics factory in Ashariarchar, Sonargaon, Narayanganj, is also struggling with inadequate gas supply.
AKM Ziaul Islam, chief operating officer of Meghna Ceramics Industries, said the factory has a daily tile production capacity of 51,000 square metres, but gas shortages have disrupted output and prevented the company from meeting market demand.
Domestic market at risk
According to BCMEA data, Bangladesh has 76 ceramic factories producing tableware, tiles, sanitaryware and ceramic bricks, including 31 tile factories.
The domestic tile market was worth Tk5,854 crore in FY25, with local companies holding an 82% share. The overall ceramics market stood at Tk8,250 crore in 2024-25 fiscal year.
The sector has attracted around Tk20,000 crore in investment and employs five lakh people. Ceramic factories are located in Gazipur, Mymensingh, Narayanganj, Habiganj and Bhola.
Industry insiders said almost all factories in the affected areas are facing gas shortages, except seven to eight in Bhola and Habiganj with comparatively better supplies.
The affected industrial clusters include Savar and Dhamrai in Dhaka; Rupganj and Meghnaghat in Narayanganj; Kashimpur, Bhabanipur, Bhawal Mirzapur, Sreepur and Mawna in Gazipur; Panchdona in Narsingdi; Bhaluka and Trishal in Mymensingh; and Madhabpur and Bahubal in Habiganj.
Industry executives said most affected factories are operating at only 20-30% capacity.
BCMEA President Moinul Islam said factories outside Bhola and Habiganj were unable to operate at full capacity because of gas shortages.
He said Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) representatives recently met Industry and Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir to discuss the gas crisis.
"For an industry that has invested around Tk20,000 crore and employs nearly half a million people, manufacturers now fear that a prolonged gas crisis could turn a temporary production disruption into a deeper industrial and employment crisis," he added.
