India's Steel Ministry Opposes Import Limits on Key Steelmaking Ingredient
Steel

India's Steel Ministry Opposes Import Limits on Key Steelmaking Ingredient

India's Ministry of Steel has expressed opposition to limiting imports of low ash metallurgical coke, an essential raw material for steel production, according to a source familiar with the matter and a government note reviewed by Reuters. This stance could hinder local producers who have raised concerns about rising imports since 2019/20.

In April, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), under the trade ministry, recommended capping these imports at 2.85 million metric tons for a year, following complaints from local producers. The final decision, however, rests with the commerce ministry, which has yet to comment.

The steel ministry?s resistance to import restrictions is driven by strong domestic demand and issues with the quality of local production. ?The domestic merchant producers of coke are not fully capable of meeting the demand of met coke of the country, particularly on quality grounds,? stated Nagendra Nath Sinha, the ministry?s top civil servant, in a letter to the trade ministry dated May 29.

India, the world's second-largest crude steel producer, has seen its imports of low ash metallurgical coke surge over 61% in the past four years, primarily from China, Indonesia, and Poland. The ministry warned that adopting DGTR?s recommendations could disrupt supply chains, production, and the steel industry?s downstream customers.

A senior executive at a major steel mill, requesting anonymity, highlighted that import restrictions would elevate steel prices and increase costs for coking coal, further burdening smaller steel producers.

India's Ministry of Steel has expressed opposition to limiting imports of low ash metallurgical coke, an essential raw material for steel production, according to a source familiar with the matter and a government note reviewed by Reuters. This stance could hinder local producers who have raised concerns about rising imports since 2019/20. In April, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), under the trade ministry, recommended capping these imports at 2.85 million metric tons for a year, following complaints from local producers. The final decision, however, rests with the commerce ministry, which has yet to comment. The steel ministry?s resistance to import restrictions is driven by strong domestic demand and issues with the quality of local production. ?The domestic merchant producers of coke are not fully capable of meeting the demand of met coke of the country, particularly on quality grounds,? stated Nagendra Nath Sinha, the ministry?s top civil servant, in a letter to the trade ministry dated May 29. India, the world's second-largest crude steel producer, has seen its imports of low ash metallurgical coke surge over 61% in the past four years, primarily from China, Indonesia, and Poland. The ministry warned that adopting DGTR?s recommendations could disrupt supply chains, production, and the steel industry?s downstream customers. A senior executive at a major steel mill, requesting anonymity, highlighted that import restrictions would elevate steel prices and increase costs for coking coal, further burdening smaller steel producers.

Related Stories

Gold Stories

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Vedanta Metal Bazaar Expands to Global Markets

Vedanta Aluminium has expanded its digital e-commerce platform, Vedanta Metal Bazaar, to international markets, enabling overseas customers to order and purchase aluminium products online.The platform will now be available to buyers across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, providing a digital gateway for export transactions with 24x7 access.In FY26, Vedanta Metal Bazaar processed transactions worth nearly $4.1 billion, or over Rs 380 billion, and fulfilled more than 23,000 orders. The platform is also used regularly by more than 550 MSMEs in India alongside large OEM customers.The export ..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Ramky Infrastructure Q1 FY27 Revenue Rises 24.3%

Ramky Infrastructure Limited reported a 24.3% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue from operations to Rs 471.2 crore for Q1 FY27, compared with Rs 3.79 billion in the corresponding quarter of FY26.Standalone revenue from operations rose 27.5% YoY to Rs 4.51 billion from Rs 3.54 billion, while total standalone income increased 35% to Rs 5.32 billion.Consolidated profit before tax stood at Rs 540.9 million during the quarter. The company highlighted a sharp sequential improvement compared with a pre-exceptional loss of Rs 190.1 million in Q4 FY26.Two of the three projects awarded during..

Next Story
Technology

LTTS Launches AgenticIQ AI Platform for Engineering

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) has launched AgenticIQ, an end-to-end agentic AI platform designed for engineering and manufacturing organisations.The platform is aimed at helping enterprises move beyond isolated AI pilots by enabling autonomous, multi-agent workflows across engineering, product development, manufacturing, industrial operations and customer experience.AgenticIQ is built on LTTS’ Engineering Intelligence portfolio and converts existing engineering capabilities into specialised, reusable AI agents. Its planning-first architecture is embedded into engineering and production ..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement