The stainless steel sector has voiced major distress before the government, ahead of the full budget presentation on July 5. The Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA), India’s apex stainless steel industry body, has sought an immediate custom duty relief on importing key raw materials that can help boost domestic stainless steel production. As a key recommendation in its submission to the government, ISSDA has apprised that Ferro-Nickel and stainless steel scrap attract an import duty of 2.5% each and are unavailable in the country; hence need to be necessarily imported. This elevates the overall cost of stainless steel production in the country.
Despite the brimming global trade challenges, India continues to be the second largest producer and consumer of stainless steel. The demand for stainless steel is growing at ~8 9% across an array of applications, but the domestic industry is marred by the dual challenge of excessive dumping by other major stainless steel producing countries like Indonesia and China. Moreover, the capacity utilization of the Indian stainless steel industry is stagnant at 70% as cheap imports engulf the market share and erode the competitiveness of domestic players due to high raw material prices.
