Steel Industry under pressure, Ministry seeks roll back of anti-dumping duties
New Delhi, May 22: The escalating prices and domestic shortages is putting immense pressure on India’s Steel Industry, realising which the Ministry of Steel has reportedly urged the Ministry of Finance to withdraw anti-dumping duties imposed on low-ash metallurgical coke (met coke).
Low-ash metallurgical coke is a critical raw material used in blast furnace steelmaking and accounts for nearly 35–40 per cent of steel production costs.
The provisional anti-dumping duties on imported low-ash met coke was imposed in December last year for a six-month period, with the objective of protecting domestic producers from cheaper overseas shipments.
The move hit imports from key supplier nations including China, Indonesia, Japan, Poland and Switzerland.
According to reports, the Steel Ministry has highlighted to the Finance Ministry that financial stress has increased on streel manufacturers as domestic supplies remain inadequate to meet industry demand, while input costs have risen sharply.
Industry bodies have repeatedly warned that import restrictions and anti-dumping measures could disrupt production planning and expansion targets.
The Steel industry has been hit further due to the disruption in commodity supplies from the West Asia region because of the ongoing conflict and tensions.
State-run Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) is among the companies reportedly affected by the supply crunch.
The Steel Ministry noted that limited availability and elevated prices of met coke had significantly increased input costs for producers, hurting competitiveness and operational viability.
Smaller and mid-sized steelmakers are also facing mounting pressure as they remain heavily dependent on imported met coke and lack long-term sourcing advantages available to larger integrated producers.
Steel producers had earlier sought a substantial increase in import quotas for low-ash metallurgical coke, citing a widening mismatch between domestic availability and rapidly expanding steel capacity.
According to earlier industry estimates, companies requested a near sevenfold increase in import quotas to avoid supply disruptions.
India is currently the world’s second-largest crude steel producer and has set ambitious targets to significantly expand domestic steelmaking capacity over the next decade as part of its infrastructure and manufacturing growth strategy.
