Kalinganagar Industries Association and Associated Chamber of Commerce in the state of Odisha have expressed concern over a shortage of iron ore impacting the steel industry, according to media reports. These bodies, in their letter to the chief minister Naveen Patnaik, have urged the government to make mines auctioned under Orissa Mining Corporation operational to ease the shortage.
The two industry bodies state that iron ore production in the state declined to 111mn mt in 2020-2021 from 142mn mt in the preceding year. Out of the 111mn mt, 65mn mt was produced by captive mines large-scale steelmakers in the country. Adding to the woes of mills without captive mining, exports of iron ore in 2020-21 increased to 29mn mt from 17.4mn mt in the previous fiscal year. The resulting shortage led to a price rise where iron ore prices in the state went up to around Rs12,000/mt in June from Rs2,200/mt in the prior-year period.