Indian steel mills seek iron ore export ban as China sales jump
Economic Times
India
27-02-2024
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Smaller steelmakers in India are pressing for a ban on exports of iron ore, after a surge in sales to Chinese mills pushed up local prices.
Indian exports jumped 170% to 44 million tons last year — most of which went to China — at a time when domestic demand for the raw material is rising. That’s prompted the worst-affected sections of the industry to seek restrictions from the authorities to protect their margins.
“We have asked the government to ban exports of all forms of iron ore — otherwise China’s steel industry will run and ours will shut,” Anil Nachrani, president of the Chhattisgarh Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association, said in a phone interview this week. “India should be an exporter of steel and not iron ore,” he said.