By Neha Arora
(Reuters) – India’s steel secretary on Wednesday said the country has “more than adequate availability” of a key steelmaking ingredient, weeks after ArcelorMittal’s India joint venture said it may have to curtail local steel production due to import restrictions.
India, the world’s second-biggest crude steel producer, could extend restrictions on imports of low-ash metallurgical coke, or met coke, to encourage local steel mills to source the ingredient from domestic suppliers, Reuters reported last month.
“It’s more of a question of price. If you import, you’ll pay about $50-$100 less,” Sandeep Poundrik told reporters on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi.
Domestic production of met coke is at 7.1 million metric tonnes but the total demand is very little, he said, adding that the industry is running at less than half capacity.
State-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is also willing to supply met coke as they have a surplus capacity but no takers, he said.
(Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Varun H K)
