The Indian forging industry has sought an immediate ban on exports of finished steel and iron ore from the country in view of high pricing hampering growth of forging, the Association of Indian Forging Industry (AIFI) said in a statement on Monday, December 28.
With steel prices increasing by 55 percent since the start of the current fiscal year and by 30 percent over the past three months, the domestic forging industry is in serious risk particularly with deep cash flow pressures and dwindling cash reserves due to the impact of the pandemic, the AIFI said in a statement.
"We believe that rising exports of steel from India are aggravating the low availability of finished steel in the local market and rising prices, and this is hampering the forging industry," Vikash Bajaj, AIFI president, said.
“The association has requested the government to consider a ban on steel and iron ore exports, so that meeting domestic demand is given preference in a cost and price effective manner,” he said.
Indian forged steel product manufacturers have increased prices by 10 percent over the past six months and are looking for a further increase of 15 percent to absorb higher steel prices, but such price increases are unsustainable, the association said.