Small and medium-scale steel wire producing units in India are on the verge of closing down amid an acute shortage of raw materials, India’s Steel Wire Manufacturers’ Association has warned.
According to the association, over 100 steel wire producing units in small and medium-scale are operating at less than average 50 percent capacity utilization in the face of an acute shortage of raw materials in the domestic market.
“The industry is facing an acute shortage of high grade wire rods, the main raw material for wire production which has varied use in infrastructure projects,” Tirthankar Banerji, secretary general of the association, said in a statement.
“The shortage of high grade wire rod is almost 50 percent of total demand and inadequate domestic supplies have been aggravated by stiff import restrictions,” he added.
The association has petitioned the ministry of steel seeking directives to Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) to streamline its specialized wire rod plant at Burnpur in West Bengal and advise Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited and other private wire rod producers to supply raw materials to steel manufacturing units in small and medium-scale on a priority basis.