ISA urges govt to check price of coking coal

New Delhi, June 13 (KNN) The Indian Steel Association (ISA) has requested the government to intervene and check the price of coking coal which has soared upto USD 450 a tonne.

Coking coal and iron ore are the two key raw materials used in steel making.

Alok Sahay, Secretary General of ISA told PTI that the association has appealed for an immediate intervention by the government to check coking coal price which has majorly impacted the cost of production.

Almost a year ago, the price of coking coal used to be in the range of USD 120-130 per tonne, said Sahay.
However the coking coal prices had jumped up to USD 670 per tonne in March 2022, he added.

At the current price range, he said, the cost of coking coal alone in steel making is around Rs 28,000 to Rs 30,000 per tonne, which works to about 40-45 per cent of the production cost. Besides, there are other input materials like iron ore, ferroalloys, logistics, fuel costs and other fixed costs.

Since February 2022 ISA has been apprising the government to take a note of coking coal prices as the association is of the view that "the price needs to be checked so that the cost of steel production can be reduced".

He suggested that the government through bilateral talks or through a competition watchdog can look into the coal indexes, its methodology, which is the basis for imported coking coal prices so that they represent the true market situation.   (KNN Bureau)