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The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (Fimi) has called for the removal of 30 per cent export duty on chrome ore. Also, in view of the surging imports of both chrome and manganese ore, it demanded imposition of safeguards duty of 50 per cent on these two commodities.
In a letter to Union steel & mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Fimi secretary-general R K Sharma said due to rising imports, 90 per cent of the manganese mines in Odisha were shut down. Even Manganese Ore India (MOIL), the largest producer of manganese in the country, is struggling hard to break even, the letter stated. The state-run MOIL recently announced a price cut of 10 per cent on all grades of ferro ore. MOIL operates 10 mines, six in Maharashtra and four in Madhya Pradesh.
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Currently, there is a ceiling on exports of these ore whereas there is no restriction on their imports. India’s manganese ore imports rose sharply from 2.17 million tonnes (mt) in 2013-14 to 3.17 mt in 2014-15. Chrome ore imports stayed flat at 0.24 mt in 2014-15, compared to 0.26 mt in the previous year. Analysts, however, do not see a strong ground for a safeguards duty on imports of chrome and manganese ore.
“Unlike steel and aluminium, the volume of chrome ore and manganese ore imports is comparatively smaller. This makes a weak case for asking for a safeguards duty. Besides, importers would prefer to source more of finished products rather than crude chrome ore,” said Giriraj Daga, portfolio manager at SKS Capital & Research.
