India's steel imports surged over 53 per cent in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal indicating that domestic producers continue to face pressure from cheap inbound shipments from countries such as China, Japan and Korea.
Steel <g data-gr-id="27">consumption however</g> grew by 7.1 <g data-gr-id="28">per cent</g> to 20.10 million tonnes (mt) in the first quarter of 2015-16 helped by cheaper imports and increased production of saleable steel, shows the latest data by Joint Plant Committee (JPC), under the Steel Ministry.
Total finished steel imports grew 53.1 <g data-gr-id="20">per cent</g> to 2.545 MT in April-June as against the year-ago period. But imports in June 2015 were down 4.7 <g data-gr-id="21">per cent</g> at 0.873 MT from May.
Compared to June last year, imports rose by 49.5 per cent. In the fiscal 2014-15, imports grew 71 <g data-gr-id="24">per cent</g> to 9.32 MT compared to 2013-14, making India a net importer of the metal. To check rising imports, the government last month raised basic customs duty (BCD) on some long and flat steel products by 2.5 <g data-gr-id="25">per cent</g>. Import duty on flat steel products was increased to 10 per cent from 7.5 per <g data-gr-id="30">cent,</g> while for long steel products it was raised to 7.5 per cent from 5 per cent.
During June itself, India slapped anti-dumping duty of up to $316 per tonne on imports of certain steel products from three countries, including China, to protect domestic producers from below-cost inbound shipments.
On growth in consumption, JPC said: "Such growth stemmed both from rising production for sale (up by 2.8 per cent) and most importantly, imports (up by 53.1 per cent) during this period and in general, is in sync with the overall growth trends noticed in major macroeconomic parameters — the IIP and the Core Sector Index."
SAIL inks MoU with NSDC
National steel manufacturing company SAIL on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
The MoU was signed between SAIL Executive Director (HRD) Manas R Panda and NSDC CEO and Managing Director Dilip Chenoy for collaborating in skilling activities to be conducted by the public sector undertaking in future, SAIL said in a statement.