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To understand how disruptions to LNG shipments through Hormuz are reverberating across the emerging world, look no further than Bangladesh 🇧🇩 ⚠️ Once-bustling textile and ceramics plants in the South Asian nation are running well below normal capacity due to gas shortages and high prices. Some factories were forced to halt production altogether in August and September, when an outage at an LNG import terminal compounded the crunch These types of industrial facilities in Bangladesh have been operating at a loss for months. Textile manufacturing, in particular, is energy-intensive, with gas-fired boilers producing steam that’s used in dyeing and finishing the fabrics Bangladesh relied on Qatar for about 60% of its LNG imports last year. That dependence had been a boon following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, since long-term agreements helped shield it from the surge in spot prices This time around, the arrangement has been a crippling vulnerability for the world’s second-largest garment exporter. Qatar has been unable to deliver gas, forcing Bangladesh into the pricey spot market to avoid worsening blackouts A single shipment of the super-chilled fuel now costs the country more than $100 million, according to Bloomberg calculations, about four times as much as a contracted cargo would have. That’s resulted in about $2 billion in additional costs so far Bangladeshi manufacturers supplying global brands like H&M and Ralph Lauren are dealing with spiraling energy costs and the possibility of more power cuts. Factory owners are worried that orders could be shifted to competitors in China or India, they told me on a visit to Dhaka last week There’s little relief in sight. While Bangladesh has scaled back purchase tenders, opting for bilateral deals instead, those shipments are still linked to spot prices. The prospect of a revival in LNG flows through Hormuz was dealt another blow last week after a Qatari tanker was attacked despite Pakistan’s arrangementswith Iran for safe passage As gas prices continue to climb in Europe and Asia, the pain won’t be confined to Bangladesh. The longer the crisis drags on, the more industries across the emerging world risk confronting the same pressures now playing out on the factory floors of Dhaka bloomberg.com/news/newslette…