NEW DELHI: India’s beer market is bracing for a squeeze just as summer demand peaks. Global brewers are warning of supply disruptions and price hikes as the Iran conflict tightens gas supplies, driving up the cost of glass bottles and delaying aluminium imports critical for cans.
India’s vulnerability is structural. As the world’s fourth-largest importer of natural gas, it relies heavily on the Middle East, sourcing about 40 per cent from Qatar. Iranian attacks have partially disrupted Qatar’s export capacity, tightening gas availability for Indian manufacturers and rippling through packaging supply chains.
The Brewers Association of India, which represents Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Carlsberg, said glass bottle prices have jumped about 20 per cent, while paper carton rates have doubled alongside increases in labels and tape. Gas shortages have forced several glass manufacturers to partially or fully halt operations, while aluminium can suppliers have warned of potential cutbacks.
“We are asking for price increases in the range of 12–15 per cent,” Vinod Giri, director general of the association, told Reuters, adding that members have been advised to approach states individually. Rising input costs are making some operations unsustainable, he said.
The industry faces another constraint: regulation. India’s alcohol market requires state approvals for retail price increases, with around two-thirds of states needing to sign off. “Brewers may find it difficult to maintain supplies in states that do not allow price increases,” the association warned.
The stress is visible on the ground. Nitin Agarwal, chief executive of Fine Art Glass Works in Firozabad, said production at his plant has been cut by 40 per cent due to gas shortages. “We’ve cut production and increased prices by 17–18 per cent,” he said, adding that his clients span liquor, juice and ketchup makers.
The disruption is spilling beyond beer. India’s $5 billion bottled water market has already seen price increases of about 11 per cent as plastic bottle and cap costs rise. An executive at Lotte Chilsung Beverage said the company has up to three months of plastic inventory left. “The situation is serious,” he said.
India’s beer market, valued at $7.8 billion in 2024 and projected to double by 2030, is dominated by Heineken, AB InBev and Carlsberg, though smaller players such as Bira and Simba are also in the fray. Central to its economics is scale—but with input costs surging, supplies tightening and pricing power constrained, the industry is heading into summer on shaky footing.
