In mid-March, at his tea stall in Kolkata, India, Abhijit Chakraborty looked at the recently emptied liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder, the last one he could purchase at the listed price.

"If there's no new delivery tomorrow, I'll have to close for the first time in 15 years," Abhijit told Reuters. Chakraborty's predicament is not unique; it reflects the energy "storm" sweeping through kitchens from South Asia to Southeast Asia.

An employee checks empty liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders inside a restaurant in India. *Reuters*

The fuel shortage stems from the conflict between the US-Israel and Iran, which has disrupted shipping traffic in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. This disruption has driven up energy prices and transportation costs, impacting exports and production from Gulf producers such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

In India, the world's second-largest LPG importer, the food service industry faces widespread closures. Disruptions in supply through the Strait of Hormuz forced the government to activate emergency powers, prioritizing gas supply for households. As a result, commercial establishments, including restaurants and hotels, faced sudden cuts in supply.

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) warned that most establishments in major cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai only have enough gas reserves for 48 hours. Many restaurants began removing fuel-intensive tandoor grilled dishes or fried items from their menus to conserve gas.

"We are implementing gas conservation measures, installing induction cooktops in some stores," said Bert Mueller, founder of the Mexican food chain California Burrito, which has over 100 outlets stretching from Bengaluru and Chennai in southern India to Delhi and Noida in northern India.

India's Ministry of Petroleum stated that it has established a committee to review LPG supply requests for restaurants and other industries, following appeals from two industry associations.

"The restaurant industry relies primarily on commercial LPG for its operations," a representative from the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) said.

Indian companies increased LPG prices for the first time in about a year, as the conflict drove up import costs. Imported supply accounts for two-thirds of the country's annual LPG consumption.

Employees prepare dosa inside Vidyarthi Bhavan restaurant, India. *Reuters/Priyanshu Singh*

Qatar, India's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplier, halted production last week following Iranian attacks on Gulf nations in retaliation for strikes by Israel and the US.

Unlike India, which focuses on gas scarcity, eateries in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and Singapore, are caught between surging gas prices and escalating supply chain costs driven by fuel prices.

In Thailand, Bangkok's street food stalls, a symbol of affordable tourism, are struggling to adapt. Cooking oil and LPG prices rose 20-30% in just two weeks, forcing vendors to choose between raising food prices or reducing portion sizes.

"We cannot raise prices too high because customers will leave, but if we keep the old prices, we are working for nothing," said a chicken rice stall owner in the Pratunam area.

In the Philippines, this pressure extends from the streets to the kitchens. Mar Valbuena, head of the transport organization Manibela, stated that rising oil prices have caused jeepney drivers' incomes to drop by about 300 Philippine pesos (VND 135,000) daily. As transportation costs for vegetables, meat, and fish from farms to cities increase, small service establishments are the hardest hit, lacking thick profit margins to absorb the shock.

In Singapore, the pressure also comes from electricity prices. The island nation relies heavily on imported gas for power generation, and fluctuating global LNG prices have directly pushed operating costs at hawker centers to their highest in the past five years. Many small vendors fear that energy inflation will completely erode already thin profit margins post-pandemic.

Beyond kitchens, the fuel crisis is creating a ripple effect across the entire service sector. Regional airlines' collective increase in fuel surcharges has led to a 10-15% rise in air ticket prices. This, in turn, has prompted tourists to tighten their spending.

With travel budgets inflated by transportation costs, tourists tend to cut down on local expenses. Restaurants in key tourist areas have reported declining customer numbers, while costs for maintaining premises, air conditioning, and ingredients continue to rise. In Indonesia, this pressure emerged just as travel demand peaked before the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday, creating scenes of long queues at petrol stations in Aceh and North Sumatra as people stocked up on fuel.

Economists believe that Asia's F&B sector faces a harsh test of adaptability. Some large businesses have begun transitioning to energy-efficient cooking equipment or altering supply chains to reduce transportation costs. However, for small businesses, considered the backbone of Asia's service economy, resilience remains limited.

An economist from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned that if Brent crude oil prices remain above USD 100 per barrel and geopolitical bottlenecks are not resolved, a wave of restaurant and eatery closures could spread from India across the entire region as early as Q2.

By Mai Phuong (Based on Reuters, CNA, Phnompenh Post)