The country's largest iron ore miner NMDC today said it will take a decision by month-end on the prices at which the mineral will be supplied to its customers.
"We have a board meeting on June 30 in Hyderabad to decide on the iron ore prices," NMDC CMD Rana Som told PTI.
The PSU had recently concluded a pact with South Korean and Japanese steel mills to supply them iron ore for current quarter at prices that are higher by as much as 99 per cent over the previous rates. NMDC is supplying iron ore fines and lumps to the foreign mills at around $121-138 a tonne.
Asked if the company will seek doubling prices for its iron ore from domestic steel consumers, Som said, "We are having an open mind. Though generally, global prices are the benchmark."
The proposed price change will come in place with a retrospective effect from April 1, 2010. The company is likely to sell iron ore to domestic firms for the current quarter.
In 2009-10, NMDC slashed rates for supplying iron ore lumps to domestic customers by 8 per cent to about Rs 2,450 a tonne, but hiked the rates of iron ore fines by 11 per cent to 1,666 per tonne following a contract with global buyers.
NMDC has long-term iron ore supply contracts with major domestic steel producers, rates of which are revised annually. In the last fiscal, NMDC produced about 24 million tonnes, of which 3 million tonnes were exported.
Industry experts say that the domestic steel firms are reeling under the impact of high input cost pressure due to 100 per cent rise in iron ore prices to about $180 a tonne and more than 50 per cent jump in coking coal prices at $200 a tonne and will protest against a surge in contracted iron ore prices from NMDC.