Restaurants and hotels across India are grappling with severe disruptions and the looming threat of shutdowns due to an acute shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a critical cooking fuel. This crisis has emerged as the ongoing conflict involving Iran has severely restricted the flow of fuel supplies through key maritime routes such as the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The blockade and instability in these strategic waterways have led to a sharp rise in energy prices and transportation costs, directly impacting the availability and affordability of LPG for commercial users.
India, which ranks as the world’s second-largest importer of LPG, has been particularly hard hit by these developments. In response, the Indian government has invoked emergency powers to compel domestic refiners to boost LPG production for local consumption. Despite these measures, the hospitality sector continues to face significant challenges in securing enough fuel to maintain normal operations. Industry leaders have expressed growing concern over the sustainability of their businesses under these strained conditions.
One prominent voice in the industry, Bert Mueller, founder of the Mexican food chain California Burrito, which operates over 100 outlets from Bengaluru and Chennai in the south to Delhi and Noida in the north, revealed that their LPG reserves would last only two more days. To cope with the shortage, Mueller explained that the company is implementing various contingency plans, including conserving gas usage and installing induction stoves in select locations to reduce dependency on LPG cylinders.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, India’s oil ministry has established a dedicated panel tasked with reviewing and prioritizing LPG supply requests from restaurants and other affected industries. This move follows urgent appeals from major industry bodies such as the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which represents over half a million eateries nationwide. The NRAI warned that any prolonged disruption in LPG supply could trigger catastrophic closures across the restaurant sector. Similarly, the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India has also called on the government for immediate assistance to prevent widespread operational paralysis.
The supply crunch has coincided with the first LPG price increase in nearly a year, driven by soaring import costs amid the Iran conflict. Notably, Qatar, India’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), halted production last week following retaliatory strikes by Iran on Gulf countries after Israeli and U.S. military actions. This stoppage has further exacerbated the scarcity of LPG, which relies heavily on imports to meet domestic demand.
In Bengaluru, often referred to as India’s Silicon Valley, the impact of dwindling LPG deliveries is becoming increasingly visible. Several restaurants have reported sharp declines in fuel deliveries, raising fears that kitchen operations could grind to a halt if the crisis persists. Manish V Shetty, owner of the Udupi Food Hub chain, disclosed that one of his outlets did not receive its scheduled gas cylinder delivery, forcing the chain to rely on an older vendor willing to provide immediate payment rather than the usual credit terms. Shetty also noted a concurrent rise in the cost of sunflower oil, another essential cooking ingredient, compounding the financial strain on food businesses.
Safety concerns prevent most restaurants from stockpiling LPG cylinders, meaning they depend on regular, timely deliveries to sustain their operations. Veerendra Kamat, secretary of the Bengaluru Hotels Association, described the situation as extremely serious, highlighting that many gas suppliers have ceased deliveries altogether. Ananth Narayan, representing the NRAI’s Bengaluru branch, added that even establishments with stored LPG supplies might exhaust their reserves within one to two weeks if the supply chain is not restored promptly.
As the conflict in the Gulf region continues to disrupt energy flows, the Indian hospitality industry faces mounting pressure to adapt rapidly. The government’s intervention through the formation of a review panel signals a recognition of the crisis’s severity, but the path to normalcy remains uncertain. Meanwhile, restaurant owners and hotel operators are forced to explore alternative cooking methods and ration their limited resources in hopes of weathering this unprecedented fuel shortage.
