SOHEL PARVEZ and JAGARAN CHAKMA

When the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, the first signs of trouble in Bangladesh were felt at airports. Flights to several Middle Eastern destinations were suspended, leaving migrant workers stranded and creating chaos at Dhaka airport.

Within days, the strain began to show elsewhere. Long queues formed at refuelling stations as fuel supplies tightened.

By April, a month into the Middle East war, the fallout had begun to seep into everyday life. Kitchen items such as green chillies and tomatoes now arrive in the same polythene bag, as the cost of producing single-use bags has risen.

Yesterday, authorities increased the price of cooking gas cylinders, a move that will filter through to food prices, from biscuits to biryani in fine dining restaurants.

The Middle East is the country’s key source of fuel oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilisers and petrochemicals. Amid the war, oil and gas suppliers in the Gulf have either raised prices or suspended deliveries altogether.

For a country heavily reliant on imported energy and chemical inputs, the disruption is biting hard. Freight rates have climbed, shipping schedules have become erratic, and manufacturers say that rising raw material costs could slow production across sectors.

Export-oriented industries were among the first to feel the shock.

Shipments of processed food and agricultural products to Gulf markets have suffered as freight charges surged fourfold and new orders slowed.

Before the war, sending a container of processed food from Chattogram port to the Middle East market cost about $1,500. Manufacturers say rerouting has pushed that figure to roughly $6,500.

The aviation sector is also under pressure.

Jet fuel prices in the international market have surged from around $0.62 to $1.32 per litre amid supply uncertainties. In Bangladesh, prices have jumped from Tk 95 to about Tk 202 within a short period.

To offset the increase, airlines have raised domestic airfares by about Tk 1,000 on several routes, said Kamrul Islam, general manager of US-Bangla Airlines.

Paint manufacturers are grappling with similar challenges.

Mohsin Habib Chowdhury, director and chief operating officer (COO) of Berger Paints, said about 25 percent of the industry’s raw materials come directly from the Middle East, with another 30 percent indirectly linked to the region.

Supplies are “drying up fast”, he said.

Chowdhury said freight costs have risen by $1,000 to $2,000 per shipment, and lead times have stretched by nearly three weeks. At the same time, prices of key ingredients have increased by 30 to 40 percent, leaving companies little room but to adjust prices.

Even then, he said, there is a risk of supply shortage.

Steel producers face a different but equally serious squeeze.

Sumon Chowdhury, secretary general of Bangladesh Steel Mill Association, said disruption to shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz has led to container shortages and delays.

Freight costs have almost doubled from about $1,200 to $2,200 per shipment. Scrap prices in global markets have increased by $70-$90 per tonne.

“Although raw materials for steel are not directly sourced from the Middle East, the sector is being hit by cascading global supply chain disruptions,” he said, adding, “Manufacturers are still supplying products at older rates using existing inventory, but domestic prices have already started to rise.”

The plastic industry, which supports nearly 30,000 businesses, is also under a severe strain.

Shamim Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said prices of key inputs such as PET, polypropylene and PVC have soared in line with oil market