Even after it grapples with higher power costs at home to meet growing demand, the domestic Ferroalloys industry is bracing to tackle competition from Malaysia and Indonesia. While in 2016 an extra capacity of 365,000 tonnes came into the market, and in 2017 during higher supplies, an additional 180,000 tonne is slated to come in, which is likely to bring down profitability.
In comparison to other Ferroalloy producing countries, power tariff in the country is high. Due to the cross-subsidy in power non-captive producers are at a disadvantage. The non-availability of low phos coke is another challenge faced by producers in India. There is also an upward pressure on the cost of production due to the anti-dumping duty on Chinese coke. Sundara Raman, chairman, Indian Ferro Alloy Producers’ Association (IFAPA) said, non-availability of high-grade manganese ore also affects the industry. He was speaking at the FAI-II, Building India 2017 in the city on Monday.
Incidentally, India produces 3.5 million tonnes (mt) of Ferroalloys and consumes around 2.3 mt. The country exported 1.3 mt of Ferroalloys and earned a foreign exchange of around Rs 8,900 crore. India’s production of around 3.5 mt of Ferroalloys consists of one million tonnes of Ferrochrome (FeCr) and 2.5 mt of manganese alloys.
News Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
