MSME In Stainless Steel Space Are Bleeding Due To Chinese Dumping, Says ISSDA President

Sep 29, 2023

Many micro, small, and medium enterprises in the stainless steel space are bleeding on account of Chinese dumping, according to Rajamani Krishnamurti of the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association.

The sector is operating at under 40% capacity utilisation compared with over 60% on account of China's 'predatory policy', Krishnamurti, president of ISSDA, told BQ Prime's Hiral Dadia.

This has resulted in 25% of the over 600 MSMEs in the stainless steel space in India shutting shop since the anti-dumping duties were revoked in 2022, leading to job loss for 57,000–70,000 people, he said.

To protect the domestic industry from 'injury', the Ministry of Finance imposed a countervailing duty on Chinese stainless steel imports in 2017. However, the CVD was suspended much prior to its five-year expiration in 2021 and eventually revoked in 2022.

Since then, China's stainless steel imports to India have shot up by 528% to 5,26,000 tonne in the nine months ending December 2022, said Krishnamurti.

Though the Directorate General of Trade Remedies had recommended the imposition of 18.95% duty on 200 series stainless steel for five years, in April 2023, it hasn't been implemented yet by the Ministry of Finance, he said.

MSMEs, predominantly in the 200-series stainless steel market, faced the brunt of China's dumping, he said. The 200-series stainless steel is used in the utensils and kitchenware segment.

The Steel Authority of India Ltd. and Jindal Stainless Ltd. are among the larger players impacted by Chinese dumping, Krishnamurti said.

While Jindal Stainless has diversified into more premium products and maintained a healthier balance sheet, SAIL has been a "major loser" from the removal of anti-dumping duties, he said. The "bread and butter" for SAIL is still 200-series products, and the company has said it has lost substantial market share on account of steel dumping.