Piyush Goyal slams steelmakers for neglecting domestic met coke suppliers.
Warns dependence on imports risks future supply shocks and predatory pricing.
Urges Atmanirbhar Bharat focus, citing rare earth magnet shortages as caution.
Backs sector’s 300mt steel capacity goal; seeks EU “melt and pour” clause.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal today criticised the domestic steel sector for failing to back local metallurgical coke (met coke) producers, warning that such neglect undermines India’s push for self-reliance.
Speaking at the Indian Steel Association’s annual conclave, Goyal urged the industry to re-examine its export-import practices if it wanted others to follow its example.
“Perhaps you deserved the safeguard duty a few months before it was finally imposed. But when the met coke industry needed protection, I didn’t get support from the steel sector. For the sake of saving a few dollars, you chose to import met coke and brought the domestic industry to its knees and nearly killed it,” Goyal said.
He pointed out that the industry had failed to consider the long-term risks in their actions. “Once there are no domestic suppliers left, you’ll be at the mercy of foreign companies who could charge an arm and a leg and you would pay,” he cautioned.
Goyal recalled how the industry had rushed to seek government intervention when global supply chains faltered. “Karma comes back to us all. Within 24 hours, I received a letter from the steel industry saying you would now buy met coke from India. What message should the government take from this? And should the government have been forthcoming to support it? It’s a wake-up call for all of us,” he noted.
Comparing it with the global rare earth magnet shortage that hit the auto industry and brought it to its knees, the minister said it should have been a lesson in the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat. “It is our collective duty to support each other so that Indian industry does not die of predatory pricing,” he stressed.
However, Goyal praised the steel sector for its recent focus on quality improvements and expressed confidence that it would surpass the target of 30mn tonnes of crude steelmaking capacity by 2030.
He also underlined the government’s ongoing free trade negotiations, including talks with the European Union, where India is seeking to insert a “melt and pour” clause for steel, if there is any potential for the industry. The condition would ensure that the entire production process—from melting raw materials to pouring molten metal—takes place domestically for products to qualify for government procurement.
On trade and climate issues, the minister said the commerce ministry was working on innovative approaches to address the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which poses challenges for Indian steel exports.
