The Indian Steel Association has written to the Prime Ministers’ Office to justify the price hike in response to strong criticism raised by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for jacking up steel prices by about 55pc in the past six months.
The representative body of the domestic steel producers cited various reasons for the hike including severe shortage of iron ore in domestic market, continuous price rise in the international market and lower capacity utilization due to COVID-19 disruptions.
Primary steel producers raised rebar prices by almost 50pc to Rs53,500/mt ($729.87/mt) ex-Mumbai in retail market in December compared to Rs36,500/mt ($497.95/mt) in early-July this year.
The association also demanded that the government ban iron ore exports for six months till the situation becomes normal, which will help the domestic steel industry as iron ore will be available for the country’s utilization.
($1=Rs73.3)