Indian state-run company KIOCL Limited has suspended operations at its Mangalore iron ore pellet plant as it has been rendered unviable following the recent imposition of 45 percent export tax, a company regulatory filing said on Wednesday, June 8.
The company’s Mangalore pellet plant located in the southern state of Karnataka has a production capacity of 3.4 million mt per year and produced 2.07 million mt in the fiscal year 2021-22.
KIOCL has exported pellets to major markets including Oman, South Korea, Austria, Iran, Japan and Poland and had communicated to the government seeking an exemption from the export tax as the levy would completely erode its slender profits.
In the fiscal year 2019-20, the company had achieved its highest-ever exports of pellets at 1.99 million mt, or 84 percent of its total production in the year.