Indian domestic steel companies are seeking strict immediate enforcement of the Mandatory Quality Control Order in the case of imports of tin-mill steel into the country, the Indian Steel Association (ISA) said in a communication to India’s Ministry of Steel on Thursday, July 22.
In its communication to the ministry, the ISA said that quality certification for tin-mill steel should be made mandatory as the product is used for critical packaging of food items, paints, aerosols, oil and batteries.
The association said that, even though standards under the mandatory quality control order had been established for 145 of 193 steel products, tin-mill steel standards had not yet been notified for enforcement.
The industry body claimed that an estimated 1.5 million mt of non-prime grade tin-mill steel is being dumped into the country, leading to the closure of numbers of domestic manufacturers.
The ISA alleged that over 70 percent of non-prime tin-mill steel imported into the country were defective and priced at least 50 percent lower than prime grade tin-mill steel produced in the country.
Citing data, it pointed out that Indian installed capacity for production of tin-mill grade steel was 740,000 mt per annum and demand was at around 600,000 mt per annum. About 290,000 mt per annum capacity is slated to be added during the current fiscal year, taking total domestic capacity to one million mt per annum.