The ongoing tension in the Middle East has shown no signs of cooling down anytime soon. After a promising ceasefire agreement between United States and Iran, things are back to normal, with the US recently issuing a latest measure on vessels dealing in Iranian ports.
This suggests the ongoing market volatility and energy crisis triggered by the conflict is only set to continue and this doesn't bode well for white good companies in India, who are feeling the heat of the elevated crude and metal prices.
Input costs rising for White Goods
indeed, the ongoing Iran war has led to a spike in metal and crude prices, with the latter once again breaching the $100 per barrel mark following US' latest escalation and failed negotiations with Iran in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, copper and aluminium prices have surged 35% and 29%, respectively, on a year-on-year basis and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a key raw material for consumer durable manufacturing, prices have spiked 46% on a month-on-month basis in March 2026.
The conflict is also raising supply chain disruption risk, whereas rupee depreciation is raising cost of imported AC components.
This is further compounded by new energy efficiency norms adding further to production costs, which, overall, has put immense pressure on white goods companies in India.
ALSO READ: US To Begin Blockade Of Iranian Ports From Monday As Strait Of Hormuz Peace Talks Collapse
What are companies doing?
Companies that are mainly affected by this emerging market phenomenon are giants such as Blue Star, Voltas, LG Electronics, Hitachi. Crimpton Greaves Consumer Electrical and Whirlpool.
In order to mitigate these headwinds, white goods and consumer durable companies have hiked prices by 3-15%, with LG and Hitachi raising AC prices by 5-7% in March. An average of 15% price hikes have been implemented by multiple players in this segment.
According to analyst reports, prices have fans have risen around 5% during the course of this period, whereas the refrigeration and air conditioning segment has seen hikes anywhere between 5% to 15%.
Prices have washing machiens and refrigerators have also increased 3% while water purifiers, air purifiers and vacuum cleaners have seen price hikes of 5-10%.
What's next?
Things may not look particularly bright for either the consumer or the companies should the Iran war continue to disrupt the volatile energy markets right now.
In fact, Blue Star's Managing Director B Thiagarajan has recently confirmed to NDTV Profit that the company sees a possibility of a 10-15$ hike that will be passed on to consumers.
Moreover, the entire ordeal could take a hit on volumes and margins of these companies, according to analysts. This is coupled with more price hikes in the coming quarters.
While Q4FY26 will see negligible impact of this latest market trend, largely on account of most companies keeping at least six to eight weeks of inventory, full impact may be realised in Q1FY27.
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