Indian Steel Association writes to PMO defending steel price hike

On Tuesday, the Indian Steel Association wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attributing the sudden surge in the price of metal to the cost of raw materials and demanded for an iron ore export ban for six months. The Indian Steel Association (ISA) informed the PMO about the price hike of the metal after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, wrote to the PM about the impact of rising steel prices on infrastructure projects. According to the sources, the hot-rolled coil prices have increased by 46% to Rs 52,000 per tonne in November, compared to Rs 37,400 per tonne in July 2021. The housing and construction firm, Rebar TMT, has a price of Rs 50,000 per tonne. ISA explained the issues regarding iron ore, the rising price of raw materials, shortage in global steel supply, and low capacity utilisation due to Covid-19 disruptions. The steelmakers' demanded a ban on iron ore exports until the supply stabilises for the key raw material. The secretary in-general of ISA, Bhaskar Chatterjee told the media that due to shortage of steel in the rise of Covid-19 disruptions, international prices rose to over $750 per tonne from $397 per tonne this year. Chatterjee said that the price of iron ore had increased more than double from Rs 1,960 per tonne to Rs 4,160 per tonne from June to December 2020. The iron ore production from April to October 2020 was 92.08 million tonnes (mt), registering a sharp downfall of 30% in the same period last year. Iron ore exports had surged by 70.3% to 29.20 mt in the first half of FY21. The Indian crude steel production fell by 19% in FY21, ISA said. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Indian steel industry faced several disruptions. Many steel companies in India with sub-optimal operating capacity faced considerable cash losses because the non-absorption of major fixed costs for the quarter ended in June 2020. Image Source Also read: TN construction body urges state to regulate bldg material prices Also read: NMDC slashes iron ore prices by Rs 200 per tonne