Steel Imports to go Down Significantly in FY17: ICRA

Rating agency ICRA has said that Indian steel imports will go down substantially in FY17 on the back of imposition of minimum import price (MIP) while domestic steel prices are likely to increase by Rs 2,700-3,400 per tonne in the coming months. Commenting on the issue, an ICRA Official told the media, "With the MIP covering almost the entire spectrum of steel products, which accounted for 87 per cent and 98 per cent of India's total steel imports in FY15 and April-November of FY16, its impact on curbing imports is likely to be more effective than import duty hikes or SGD." “The MIP regime is expected to improve the margins and capacity utilisations of stronger domestic steel players,” he added.
 

As per reports, the Government notified imposition of MIP on February 5 on 173 categories of flat and long steel products for a period of 6 months.
 

Before this, the Government had levied safeguard duty (SGD) of 20 per cent on hot-rolled coils (HRC) of width greater than 600 mm in September 2015, and hiked import duty on steel twice by 2.5 percentage points each in June and August 2015.