IIF asks Centre to ban export of pig iron, iron ore

Hyderabad, Apr 1 (UNI) The Hyderabad chapter of the Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) today demanded that the Union Government impose a ban on export of both pig iron and iron ore to save the foundry industries from the present crisis.

Addressing a press conference here, IIF Chairman V Anand Reddy said an unprecedented situation had arisen due to skyrocketing of prices of foundry raw materials. The prices of crucial raw materials like pig iron, steel scrap, ferro alloys and other consumables as well as metallurgical coke had increased by 25 per cent to 80 per cent during the last three to six months.

He said the foundry industry, which was the backbone of automobile and engineering industries worldwide, was facing problems due to increase in the prices of raw materials.

He said the casting buyers were not increasing casting purchase price to compensate for the high jump in raw materials cost. Many foundries had cut down their production by almost 50 per cent, leading to lay off of employees.

Mr Reddy said the reason for the huge surge in materials cost was that China offered metallurgical coke at unrealistic low prices, compelling many European and Western plants to close down their coke plants and the existing coke manufacturers in China had taken full advantage of the shortage and hiked the prices by 30 to 50 per cent.

He demanded that the Centre or the State Governments use the power of Regulatory Authority to go into the unreasonable price hike of foundry raw materials and help control prices.

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