Govt mulls imposing MIP on aluminium: Mines Secretary

The government on Friday said that it is considering imposing a minimum import price (MIP) on aluminium, a move that may help stem a rise in cheaper shipments coming from overseas, hurting domestic manufacturers. "The government is considering imposing MIP on aluminium," Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar said.

"Either on this Monday or Tuesday, the Mines Ministry will send its recommendations to the Commerce Ministry," Kumar said.

The domestic manufacturers had earlier called for imposition of restrictions like MIP on aluminium import, similar to the one imposed on steel.

China, the biggest producer and consumer of metals, is exporting surplus aluminium amid weak domestic demand.

In August last year, Aluminium Association met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and pitched for protective measures against cheap imports.

The industry body had said that China is exporting surplus aluminium amid weak domestic demand.

The situation is alarming as 50 per cent of the metal consumed in India is coming through imports, it had said.

According to industry data, primary aluminium producers incurred losses of around Rs 4,025 crore in the last fiscal, substantially higher than Rs 1,480 crore in 2014-15.

India's annual aluminium consumption is three million tonnes and production capacity is four million tonne. Nearly half the consumption is met from imports, mostly from China.

Import of aluminium had increased by 159 per cent in 2015 compared to 2011 levels, industry sources said.