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Price manipulations by steel cartels throwing Indian MSMEs out of export competitions: All India Trader & Industrial Organizations

Updated: Mar 07, 2022 09:59:48am
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Price manipulations by steel cartels throwing Indian MSMEs out of export competitions: All India Trader & Industrial Organizations

New Delhi, Mar 7 (KNN) All Industries and trade organizations have called out action against the emerging cartel of Indian steel companies.

According to All India Trader & Industrial Organizations, in the last one year the price of steel has increased to around 25000 Rs per ton. The main reason behind the increase is the price manipulations by the cartel of Indian steel companies formed under the name of Indian Steel Alliance. 

These price manipulations are throwing Indian MSMEs out of export competitions and the industries also failed to fulfill the long term contracts of supplies. Shockingly, the government steel companies are also a part of this cartel, President Fasteners Manufacturers Association of India Narinder Bhamra and National President All Industries & Trade Forum  Badish Jindal said in a joint statement.

The local steel furnaces and rolling mills are working under SMS cartel and keep on changing the prices every hour. Whenever they have to procure the scrap they reduce the prices on SMS and after procuring the scrap from the market they increase the prices of steel, the Industrial Organizations claimed. 

The joint statement says that if the plants won't decrease the prices in 7 days the industrial organizations will start a chain of hunger strikes and the industries will stop procurement of steel.

The organizations blamed the government that when Indian companies have their own steel plants then why they are allowed to manipulate the prices. 

The Public steel plants and Private main steel plants increased the prices of steel by around 10000 Rs per ton in the last one month. Following the large production the secondary steel plants of Punjab also increased the prices of ingot from 47000 to 61000 per ton (14000)during the last one month. 

Due to this the steel consuming industries of Ludhiana faced losses of 3000 crores just in the last one month as they have to supply their pending export and domestic orders. “If it continues, the Industries will be forced to shut down due to huge increase in steel prices”, the joint statement added.

If we calculate the losses of Punjab these are more than 5000 crores and  Indian consumers suffered losses of more than 50000 crores in a month and these few steel producers earned on the cost of small consumers, it further added.

Steel companies and the government are making excuses for the war of Russia & Ukraine whereas it’s a known fact that we don’t have any steel trading with both the economies. So this is just a black marketing of steel by steel producers, the statement further added.

The margins of the Industry are not above 5% so under such circumstances it is hard to absorb the increase of 25% by Industries due to which industries will have to close down their productions, it added. 

The government of India and the steel ministry is silent on the issues due to their vested interests, the statement further added.

Regarding this a protest was also organized by Industrial Organizations at the cycle market in Ludhiana against the huge hike in steel prices. The protest was jointly organized by ALL Industries and trade organizations. 

Fastener Manufacturers Association of India, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Associations (FOPSIA), Fastener Suppliers Association of India, Ludhiana Steel Brokers Association joined the protest. 

The effigies of Steel Minister  of India RCP Singh, Chairman of Steel Authority Of India Limited Soma Mondal and Chairman of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant Atul Bhatt were burnt under protest. (KNN/AT)

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