The Union steel ministry is keeping a close watch on steel imports, which in the first five months of the current fiscal have jumped 23% over the last year to at least 2.5 million tonnes (mt), joint secretary (steel) Syedain Abbasi said in Kolkata on Friday.
It is estimated that in fiscal 2015, India could be importing at least 6.2 mt of steel, compared with 5.1 mt last year, according to Abbasi.
Limited import is “good” for prevention of cartelization among domestic steel makers, he said, but in the wake of a sharp increase in imports, Indian producers might need “additional protection”.
Because of the clamp down on illegal mining of iron ore, input costs have shot up, Abbasi said, explaining the increase in steel import.
It is estimated that India will produce 86 mt of steel this year, compared with 81 mt in fiscal 2014.
Source: Live Mint