The Indian foundry industry has sought a cap on imports of castings used as parts in equipment to ensure a higher level of indigenization by equipment manufacturers and to offer protection to domestic foundries from imports, an official from the Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) said on Monday, May 15.
The IIF official said that a quantitative cap on the volume of casting products imported by equipment manufacturers, particularly from China, is essential to ensure a “level playing field for local foundries.”
Citing an example, the official said that wind turbine manufacturers required an estimated 120,000 mt of casting products during the last fiscal year, of which as much as 100,000 mt were imports from China. He said that the government should lay down norms for a higher level of indigenization by wind turbine manufacturers, which in turn would ensure that the latter sources higher volumes of casting products from Indian foundries.
It is estimated that the landed price of castings imported from China are on average 15-20 percent lower than Indian-made casting products.