Import duty hike on stainless steel to hit utensil makers

MUMBAI: The apex body of the country's stainless steel utensil and cutlery manufacturers has said that any import duty hike on stainless steel will have a huge hit on the industry, which employs three lakh people.

"Stainless steel attracts 5 per cent import duty now. Domestic stainless steel manufacturers are lobbying with the Government to increase that to 15-20 per cent to protect their interests. It will have a major impact on our industry, if the Government go by their demand," All India Stainless Steel Industries Association's Secretary Paresh Mehta told media.

The demand for stainless steel, the basic raw material for the utensil and cutlery industry, is around 1.4 million tonnes per annum.

"Out of that, we import around 0.4 mtpa mainly from China, Japan, Ukraine, Korea and Thailand. The rest is supllied by the domestic manufacturers of stainless steel," he said.

The domestic manufacturers do not make high grade stainless steel which are needed in some cases of specialised applications for fabrication jobs of hotel and catering equipment.

"This necessities to import stainless steel as per customers' demand," he said, adding that overseas buyers were particularly pertinent about the quality, failing of which could see the end of export business.

The utensil and cutlery industry exports materials worth Rs 1,800 crore, he said.

Meanwhile, the import of stainless steel dipped by 70 per cent to 6,000 tonnes in December last year from 20,000 tonnes a month back.