Bangladesh Textile Sector Reels from Energy Crisis Amid LNG Supply Disruptions

Bangladesh's textile sector is facing an energy crisis due to high costs and supply disruptions. The industry, which employs 4 million people and produces 80% of the country's exports, relies heavily on gas for wet processing operations.

A fire at one of Bangladesh's two LNG terminals last month further reduced supply to just over half of demand. Industry leaders are now looking to alternative fuels, such as biomass and electricity.

However, switching to biomass is not a viable sector-wide solution due to the industry's large fuel demand relative to the country's biomass base.

The Apparel Impact Institute suggests that installing electric boilers and heat pumps could cut energy use by up to 45%, but this would require significant capital investment.