Ramesh opposes export of iron ore by POSCO

Bhubaneswar, Jul 1 (UNI) Union Minister of state for Commerce Jairam Ramesh today opposed the proposal of iron ore export by the South Korean steel major POSCO from Orissa as it was against the interest of state.

Mr Ramesh told mediapersons here that he was not opposed to the proposal of the POSCO but the company should not be allowed to export the iron ore from the state.

The Union Minister said India must have a strategic goal and set a deadline that there should not be any export of iron ore after 2010.

He said out of 100 million tonnes of iron ores produced from the country, nearly 45 million tonnes were being exported and almost 55 per cent had been exported to China alone.

He said 2010 would be a remarkable period to set a deadline for total ban on iron ore exports from the country adding that value added products should be exported only.

When asked whether POSCO would also import the iron ore in lieu of the iron ore exported from the state, Mr Ramesh quipped saying that the extraction cost of the iron ore would be around Rs 600 per tonnes while the market price would be Rs 1800 to Rs 2000 per tonne.

Mr Ramesh, however, did not make any comments on the POSCO's proposal about a minor port close to Paradip. He said the country must have good number of ports to handle the additional traffic in future.

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