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Protest against steel price hike in Ludhiana
The industrial organisations of the city staged a protest at the cycle market over the unprecedented steel price hike
The industrial organisations of the city staged a protest at the cycle market over the unprecedented steel price hike.
Fastener Manufacturer Association of India, All Industries Trade Forum, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association (FOPSIA), and Fastener Suppliers Association of India organised the protest.
The public and private steel plants have increased steel prices by around ₹6,000 per tonne in the last eight days. Following the large production, the state’s secondary steel plants also increased the ingot prices from 43,800 to 49,500 in the last 10 days.
In the last year, the price of steel has increased to around ₹20,000 per tonne. The protesters said the main reason behind the increase is the cartel of Indian steel companies formed under the name of the Indian Steel Alliance. Shockingly, the government steel companies are also a part of this cartel, they added.
The government of India and the steel ministry are silent on the issue due to their vested interests, said FOPSIA president Badish Jindal.
The industrialists alleged that local steel furnaces and rolling mills are working under the cartel and keep on changing the prices every hour as per their requirements.
These price manipulations are throwing Indian MSMEs out of export competition, and the industries are failing to fulfil the long-term contracts with suppliers. The industrialists said they will intensify the strike if the prices are not reduced.
