Iron Pellet exports which recently picked up from India owing to depreciated Rupee and fairly good price in Chinese spot market are feasible from Indian east coast only, when transported through trucks.
According to industry sources, Pellet manufacturers and exporters are lobbying hard to get rid of differential freight charges levied on exports of Pellets, if transported through railways.
India's installed Pellet capacity has ramped up significantly in the last couple of years.
Current capacity is over 50 million tonnes and is expected to touch 90 million tonnes in the coming years.
Indian government realized the potential of this industry in 2012 , when it scrapped export duty on Pellets and had also cut customs duty to 2.5% (from 7.5%) on imported machinery used for setting up a Pellet plant.
According to sources, industry officials have approached Indian railways and steel ministry in order to look into unjustified freight charges.
They said that normalizing the railway freight on export of Pellet will allow inflow of foreign currency and will also increase revenues for Indian railways.
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