The Indian engineering industry has claimed that, despite the Indian government’s thrust on adding value through greater manufacturing activity in the country, the imposition of the Minimum Import Price (MIP) on steel products has disrupted the duty structure. Imports of finished goods using steel have been rising, while import of steel products has been falling, the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) said in a statement issued on Thursday, September 29.
Imports of finished goods in the form of steel increased by 22.5 percent and imports of finished goods in the form of iron rose by 51 percent during the June-August period of this year. On the other hand, imports of steel products decreased by 26 percent and imports of iron products fell 33 percent during the June-August period, the EPPC said.
The EPPC claimed that the engineering industry, the largest user of iron and steel and comprising of predominantly small and medium scale manufacturing and exporting units for auto parts, industrial and electrical products, is on the one hand facing higher prices for imported inputs of iron and steel and at same time face stiff competition from larger imports of similar finished products.