Saturday, April 02,
Indian iron ore miners’ expect the steelmaking raw material to become costlier and their profit margin to come under pressure due to the Railway surcharge hike of 7% on transportation of iron ore.*
The surcharge, which it imposes during peak seasons, will be in place between April 1 and June 30 and Oct. 1 and March 31, the Indian Railways said in a recent statement.
India, the world’s third-largest exporter of iron ore, uses the Indian Railways’ network to transport nearly 60% of the ore mined in the country to ports.
“The iron ore industry is already feeling the pinch of the increased export tax and a further levy of surcharge will dent our slender margins,” R.K. Sharma, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries.
During the April 2010-February 2011 period, India’s iron ore exports fell 18% to 85.43 million metric tons, according to the federation data.
India’s iron ore exports were expected to decline to around 90 million tons in the fiscal year ended Thursday, compared with 117.37 million tons a year earlier, mainly due to a ban on shipments by the southern state of Karnataka to stop illegal mining.
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