India sees 58% rise in steel imports, domestic producers face threat
India’s steel imports increased to 0.91 million tonnes (MT) in May this year, registering an increase of 58% as compared to the same month’s figure last year. As compared to the April 2015 data, the import grew by 20.4%, said the latest report of the Joint Plant Committee under the Ministry of Steel. "Import of total finished steel stood at 1.666 MT in April-May 2015-16 and saw a growth of 54.5% over the same period of last year," the report said, pointing towards 7% increase in the consumption of the metal in April. The country’s total consumption of finished steel in May 2015 registered 7.234 MT, which was 31.3% higher than last month and 6.8 % up from May last year, the report said. The growing demand for steel is considered a positive development for the country as it signals the increase in construction and manufacturing activities within the country. On the other hand, high volume of import at cheaper rates also poses a challenge for the domestic steel producers. In an effort to protect domestic producers, the government had last week imposed anti-dumping duty on the imports of certain steel products from China, Malaysia and South Korea. Anti-dumping duties of up to $316 per tonne of import were imposed for five years on hot-rolled flat stainless steel and other products that are mainly used in automobile components, railways, building and construction, reactor vessels and other sectors.
June 09, 2015 | 9:28 pm IST.
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