India’s domestic steel companies are seeking a long-term extension of the minimum import price (MIP) of at least six months to a year, an official of Indian Steel Alliance (ISA), said on Wednesday, December 21.
The official said that ISA, the representative body of domestic steel producers, has petitioned India’s Ministry of Steel to give the MIP a longer period of validity, replacing the current ad-hoc extensions for shorter periods of time.
The MIP was first imposed in February 2016 and on its expiry in August was extended until October, then until December and lastly until February 4, 2017.
ISA has pointed out that longer-term validity of the import protection measure would enable domestic producers to more effectively plan their production and pricing strategies.
In their communication, domestic steel producers claimed that the MIP has yet to bolster demand for domestic steel products as its impact has been negated by various other factors like the sharp rise in imported coking coal prices and the lack of liquidity among steel product buyers in wake of the government’s demonetization of high-value currency notes and, accordingly, they state that the import protection measure should be implemented over a longer period.