The Hindu : Business : Steel companies asked to refrain from frequent price increases

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Steel companies asked to refrain from frequent price increases

Special Correspondent

Give importance to views of Price Monitoring Committee while deciding on prices: Paswan

— PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT

FROM ORE TO METAL: Union Minister for Steel and Fertilizer, Ram Vilas Paswan (left), with Minister of State for Mines, T. Subbarami Reddy (second from right), and SAIL Chairman, S.K. Roongta (right), at a summit in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday asked steel producers to refrain from frequent price hikes and suggested that the views of the Price Monitoring Committee should be factored in while taking a decision on raising the prices of their products.

Addressing a seminar on steel and mining organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here, Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said: “Stable pricing should be adopted by the steel producers. They should pay due importance to views of the Price Monitoring Committee while deciding on prices of their produce”.

Instead of hiking their product prices too often, the steel majors should decide their prices in tandem with the price fluctuations of iron ore and coke in the global markets. “My request to the steel industry will be to exercise restraint on any arbitrary price hike for steel products as it directly affects the common man,” he said.

On the issue of putting a cap on exports of iron ore, the Minister said: “My Ministry has always favoured that iron ore exports be allowed only after meeting the needs of the domestic steel makers to ensure value-addition within the country.” In this regard, he pointed out that while Tata Steel and state-owned steel major SAIL had captive mines, others producers such as JSW, Essar and Ispat did not, and this reflected a distortion in the country’s mineral policy.

Mr Paswan assured the gathering that his Ministry would continue to work for implementation of the promised investments in the steel sector while noting that a high-level committee should be constituted for monitoring the progress. Concerned over the growing demand-supply mismatch in the steel sector, he stressed the need for higher production as the country would otherwise become dependent on imports.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Mines T. Subbarami Reddy said that the Government favoured the value-addition of iron ore at the country level instead of it being a state-specific activity.

In the national mineral policy under formulation, he said the Government had suggested that mineral-rich states should be given 18 months to decide on the fate of mining applications. An investment of about Rs 15,000 crore is envisaged once the policy is implemented, he said. Opposing Mr Paswan’s suggestion of capping ore export, Mr Reddy pointed out that the ceiling could jeopardise the mining industry and result in a massive loss of jobs. Alongside, he disfavoured ore exports by the state-owned NMDC and noted that it should provide raw material support to the domestic producers.

The Government, he said, should also take adequate steps to render the steel industry globally competitive.

In his address, SAIL Chairman S. K. Roongta noted that for the betterment of both the steel and mining sectors, the two industries should join hands instead of criticising each other.

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