Leading steelmaker Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) today sought Odisha government’s intervention into the ‘abnormal’ high price of raw materials such as iron ore and coal in the state.
JSPL chairman Naveen Jindal highlighted problems faced by steel industries in the state when he met Chief Secretary A P Padhi and other senior government officials here.
“While Iron Ore price in the international market is decreasing, the same in Odisha is increasing. Also, the transporters are increasing the freight rate from time to time. This adds to the challenges faced by the steel industries in the state,” Jindal told reporters here.
JSPL chairman Naveen Jindal highlighted problems faced by steel industries in the state when he met Chief Secretary A P Padhi and other senior government officials here.
Stating that there is a scarcity of coal for steel industries in the state, Jindal said the premium for coal in e-auction by Mandi Coalfields Limited (MCL) goes up to 100 percent. “In Odisha, we are buying the World’s costliest coal through e-auction,” he added.
Jindal also urged the MCL and the Coal India to increase production in order to facilitate the smooth running of steel industries in the state.
The consistent increase of input price for the steel industry is resulting in a hiked cost of production, Jindal said adding that the steel industries are facing difficulties as the raw material prices are increasing, whereas the price of finished steel products is going down.
During April to July, Jindal said, “Steel prices have been reduced from Rs 41,000 per ton to Rs 39,000 per ton, whereas prices of iron ore lumps has surged by 10.58 percent from Rs 4,725 per ton to Rs 5,225 per tonne and fines by 17 percent from Rs 2,050 to Rs 2,400 per tonne.”
Jindal requested the state government to take immediate steps to increase iron ore availability for the industries in competitive price and implement the notification regarding freight rate for mineral transport in the state.
JSPL has invested Rs 35,000 crore in the steel sector in the state, which includes India’s largest pelletization complex of 9 MTPA capacity at Barbil in Keonjhar district and Odisha’s largest steel plant of 6 MTPA capacity.
Prasanta Patnaik