Govt assures support to ferro alloy industry grappling with raw material shortage

The government Thursday assured domestic ferro alloy producers of taking steps to address their concerns of unavailability of raw materials and high prices of power.

Speaking at '2018 International Ferro Alloys Conference' here, Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said measures will be taken to resolve these issues.

Ferro alloy producers are grappling with raw material shortage and high prices of power, said Manish Sarda, Chairman, Indian Ferro Alloy Producers Association (IFAPA).

He urged the steel minister to ensure availability of manganese ore and address the issue of high cost of power, which contributes 50 per cent to the total production cost.

"Ferro alloy is an additive to finished steel to provide strength, hardness, anti-corrosive properties etc. Raw materials for it are manganese ore, chrome ore and coke," said Manish Mishra, Marketing Head, Sarda Energy and Minerals.

IFAPA Chairman further said the country does not have abundant raw materials for ferro alloy and the players are importing it from countries like Australia and South Africa at higher prices.

"Sadly, there is (also) a 2.5 per cent import duty on manganese ore and chrome ore and an anti-dumping duty of USD 25 a tonne on coke. All these things are making it very difficult for ferro alloy producers to maintain India's global position," Sarda warned.

Besides, the power cost is very high compared to other countries. The power cost on average is Rs 5-6 per kilo watt in India as compared to Rs 2 per kilo watt elsewhere in the world, he added.

India has an installed capacity of producing 5 million tonne per annum of ferro alloy, Sarda said.

In a video message, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu asked the industry members to suggest ways to deal with the issues and assured full support of the government in addressing them.