Steel-millers threaten to raise MS rod price if their demand not met
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
The country's steel and re-rolling millers Tuesday threatened to raise MS rod price by Tk 5,000 to 7,000 per tonne, if their demand for withdrawal of 10.0 per cent duty on import of melting-scrap and other chemical materials, used in producing MS rod, was not met, reports UNB.
The threat came from a press conference, jointly organised by Bangladesh Steel Mill Owners Association (BSMOA) and Bangladesh Re-rolling Mills Association (BRMA), in the city.
BRMA General Secretary Sheikh Masudul Alam Masud read out a statement at the conference. BSMOA President Ali Hossain, Secretary Fazlur Rahman Bakul and Organising Secretary Bashir Ullah also spoke on the occasion.
Masud said, the import duty on melting-scrap was raised by 10.0 per cent in the new budget from 5.0 per cent of the previous fiscal (2006-07). At present, MS rod is selling at Tk 39,000 to Tk 41,000 per tonne at mill gates. The country has 250 re-rolling mills and 100 steel mills.
With this new fiscal measure, he said, the government has created a clear discrepancy between the import duty on the melting-scrap and that of the scrap-vessel. Both melting-scrap and scrap-vessel are used in producing MS rod.
The BRMA leader said, the existing import duty on scrap-vessel has been kept unchanged, which has been enjoying a fixed import duty of only Tk 1,000 per tonne, while the melting-scrap importers will have to pay about Tk 3,500 per tonne from now on.
"This will definitely raise the price of MS rod at the local market because most of the millers use melting-scrap and re-rollable scrap in their mills.
He claimed the business of scrap-vessel is confined to a few people who manipulate the market at their whim.
The BRMA general secretary was also critical of the increase of import duty on chemicals used in the steel and re-rolling mills.
He said, the government has imposed 10.0 per cent import duty on power generator, which will also have a negative impact on the steel and re-rolling industries.
The BSMOA and BRMA leaders placed a five-point demand, including withdrawal of all import duties from melting-scrap, re-rollable scrap, different chemicals for steel and re-rolling mills and the power generators.
They said, if the duty is not withdrawn, construction expenses in the public sector would also go up, as half of the total production of MS rod is consumed by the government.
The threat came from a press conference, jointly organised by Bangladesh Steel Mill Owners Association (BSMOA) and Bangladesh Re-rolling Mills Association (BRMA), in the city.
BRMA General Secretary Sheikh Masudul Alam Masud read out a statement at the conference. BSMOA President Ali Hossain, Secretary Fazlur Rahman Bakul and Organising Secretary Bashir Ullah also spoke on the occasion.
Masud said, the import duty on melting-scrap was raised by 10.0 per cent in the new budget from 5.0 per cent of the previous fiscal (2006-07). At present, MS rod is selling at Tk 39,000 to Tk 41,000 per tonne at mill gates. The country has 250 re-rolling mills and 100 steel mills.
With this new fiscal measure, he said, the government has created a clear discrepancy between the import duty on the melting-scrap and that of the scrap-vessel. Both melting-scrap and scrap-vessel are used in producing MS rod.
The BRMA leader said, the existing import duty on scrap-vessel has been kept unchanged, which has been enjoying a fixed import duty of only Tk 1,000 per tonne, while the melting-scrap importers will have to pay about Tk 3,500 per tonne from now on.
"This will definitely raise the price of MS rod at the local market because most of the millers use melting-scrap and re-rollable scrap in their mills.
He claimed the business of scrap-vessel is confined to a few people who manipulate the market at their whim.
The BRMA general secretary was also critical of the increase of import duty on chemicals used in the steel and re-rolling mills.
He said, the government has imposed 10.0 per cent import duty on power generator, which will also have a negative impact on the steel and re-rolling industries.
The BSMOA and BRMA leaders placed a five-point demand, including withdrawal of all import duties from melting-scrap, re-rollable scrap, different chemicals for steel and re-rolling mills and the power generators.
They said, if the duty is not withdrawn, construction expenses in the public sector would also go up, as half of the total production of MS rod is consumed by the government.