N.C. Mathur cut short his holiday in Himachal Pradesh because of the heat that the country’s stainless steel industry is facing. The president of the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association spent his vacation getting anxious calls from members worried over the sudden rise in the imports of utensil-grade steel from China. Since the beginning of 2010, the Chinese have been selling as much as 8,000 tonnes of stainless steel in the Indian market per month; a giant leap from last year’s average of 1,000 tonnes per month.
Thicker grade steel used for industrial purposes is largely protected with anti-dumping duties, but there is no such barrier for stainless steel less than 650 mm in thickness. The Chinese have targetted that segment forcing steel makers to try and lobby with the government for protection there too. “Our members from Rajasthan, Delhi, Kanpur and Chennai are alarmed and have been calling me continuously,” says Mathur.(This story appears in the 02 July, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
Here are reasons why Indian Govt allows import of steel fro China. It is because India wants to export high quality steel to international market which are mined in Indian land. On the other hand, to fulfill need of consumption (of course these are meant to be consumed for not so important purposes) of Indians, India wants to import cheap steel. The confusion arises when some importers in India may import steel whose quality is lower than 'cheap quality' itself. And another one is Indian exporters possibly are not able to compete with China in international market as Indian exporters do not want to negotiate with price as Chinese exporters because quality of steel sold in international market by Indians may be better than that of China. Probably unlike Chinese marketers, Indian marketers do not have access to International market too. So these are the key points Indians must remember how to keep a balance between Steel import and Steel export. Then net revenue inflow from steel sector will be higher.
on Jan 7, 2016India has so far shied away from levying anti-dumping duties against China.....Govt of India needs to provide tax breaks to companies providing them with cheaper land, lesser taxes and electricity costs to compete with china...the steel which china produces is of relatively lower grade than that of India hence this will ensure long term success.
on Nov 8, 2011