Govt may soon decide whether to curb steelmaking raw material imports

India will reach a decision soon on whether to impose import restrictions on metallurgical coke, a key ingredient in steelmaking, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

India, the world's second-largest producer of crude steel, proposed a plan in April to protect local suppliers of low-ash metallurgical coke by imposing country-specific quotas to limit annual imports to 2.85 million metric tons for one year.

Leading steelmakers such as JSW Steel and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel opposed the move, saying it would hit output, and the government has been consulting with the industry.

Those consultations have concluded, and the decision is now pending with the federal trade ministry, the source said on Wednesday.

"The decision is expected very soon," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the deliberations are sensitive.

"There are conflicting pressures weighing on the decision with steel industry on one side and met coke producers on the other."

The trade ministry's Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) said in April the curbs were meant to protect domestic met coke producers from rising imports, which have increased by more than 61 per cent over the past four years.

It proposed quotas on imports from major suppliers including China, Japan, Indonesia, Poland and Switzerland.

In June, India's federal steel ministry also wrote to the trade ministry, saying the curbs would hit local steel production.

The federal trade ministry did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.