New Delhi, March 12 -- A one-and-a-half-hour drive from Rajkot, the thriving industrial hub in Gujarat's Saurashtra region, takes you to Morbi town. Located on the Machchhu River, Morbi is known worldwide as India's ceramic hub, producing nearly 90 per cent of the country's ceramic products.

Thousands of miles away from the escalating Middle East conflict that has disrupted global fuel-LPG supplies amid the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, Morbi today stares at the possible shutdown of its ceramic factories, putting hundreds of thousands of livelihoods at risk in the hub of the $7 billion ceramic industry, according to the factory owners that Mint spoke with.

At his sprawling plant, one among hundreds in Morbi, Vinod Ambani says the in...