India:Steel Ministry may take action on the rising Re-bar Imports

Steel Ministry is constantly watching the rising re-bar imports, especially from China and may take some action in the upcoming months.

Steel Ministry has been continuously reviewing the situation of rising Re-bar import especially from China and possible measures can be taken, like hike of import duty ranges from 5-7.5% at present.

“There had been 22-23 per cent rise in steel product imports during the April-August period over the corresponding period last year. We are watching the situation,” says joint secretary, steel ministry, Syedain Abbasi.

“If the trend continues, we may consider suggesting steps after a review by October,” he said after a conference on steel organised by the Bengal Chamber as on 13^th Sep’14.

The Ministry of Steel has already instructed the various concerned department like customs to check the standard and match the quality certification of imports, on a priority basis. Last year, the import touched 5 MnT and if imports rise, it may cross 6 MnT in current fiscal year.

Abbasi also said that compared with other manufacturing sectors, steel imports of up to 5 per cent of domestic production at the current import duty level cannot be termed bad. However, more import is definitely not desirable.*

According to SteelMint data, Bar and Rod have crossed 50,000 MT into India from April to August, in which, of the total quantity about 60% was imported from China.

Bar and Rod (Alloy and Non-alloy) Import in the Last Five Months:

Source: SteelMint
Provisional data, Qty in MT

*Source: Telgraphindia.com