The glass industry needs a continuous gas supply to maintain an upward trajectory

The Government’s constructive policies, especially in the construction industry, have given the country a much-needed injection of funds and employment. Dependent industries such as glass manufacturing have benefited from this boom and continued to grow despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, the glass industry employs approximately 40,000 direct personnel, which translated to roughly 160,000 people reliant on this sector.

Over thirty-five glass companies in Pakistan produced various glass products such as float/sheet glass, bottles and containers, tableware, electric glass tubes, bulbs, neutral glass tubing etc. The production capacity of these units ranged from 15 metric tons to over 1,000 tons per day.

In addition to manufacturing glass items for the domestic industry, most of these companies export their products worldwide, thereby earning the Government much required foreign exchange.

Unfortunately, the recent energy shortages in the country, specifically in gas production, has led to a massive dilemma for this industry.

To clarify, glass production is a continuous process. Furnaces, once fired, cannot be shut down until they complete their lifespan. Due to this fact, the industry tries to maintain a 7 to 10 days reserve supply of alternate fuel, i.e., Furnace Oil, for use in emergencies to keep their furnaces operational; the cost runs into billions of rupees.

On 17th July 2021, the gas supply to all the glass units was disconnected without any prior notification, forcing the manufacturers to use their reserve furnace oil as an alternate fuel source. To make matters worse, the Government banned the sale/supply of furnace oil to the general industry (including the glass industry) and restricted the supply to IPPs only. This policy is a blow to the glass industry.

All Pakistan Glass Manufacturers Association (APGMA) has appealed to the Government to resolve the energy issue on a priority basis to help maintain the glass industry’s uninterrupted growth. The representative body would like to ask, how can any industry survive when restricted in this manner?

Gas and Furnace Oil are the primary sources of fuel required to produce glass. Suppose these primary sources, i.e., gas and sale/supply of furnace oil, are denied to this segment, in that case, the result will inevitably be the closure of the glass industry, which in turn will hurt the construction and other related industries.

The glass industry is a significant import substitute. If it is forced to close, the import bill for glass will jump considerably and up to over US $ 1 billion annually.

We urged the Government of Pakistan to provide an uninterrupted supply of RLNG to the continuous process glass industry and ensure the availability of furnace oil as an alternative fuel for emergency use, failing which the entire glass industry will collapse. (From Aug, issue of Trade Chronicle, Karachi).

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