India's Steel Ministry is seeking to abolish the AD duty on meth-coke

India's Steel ministry has moved its counterparts to the finance ministry demanding the lifting of the anti-dumping duty (AD) on metallurgical coke, citing tight domestic supplies and higher prices, government officials said on Monday, May 25.

India imposed a preliminary anti-dumping duty on low-ash coke imports in December for six months. India mainly imports coke from China, Indonesia, Poland, Japan and Switzerland. Import volumes have dropped sharply since the restrictions were introduced.

The Ministry of Steel highlighted the difficulties faced by the stateRashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd(RINL), stating that the company was unable to purchase sufficient quantities of meth-coke at reasonable prices in the domestic market, resulting in a 20 percent increase in input costs.

The Steel Ministry said the AD duty on meth-coke had "unintended consequences," disrupting the supply chain and raising production costs at steel mills across the country.

At the same time, domestic producers of meth-coke were unable to ensure sufficient availability of key steelmaking raw materials at competitive prices, officials said, citing a message to the Ministry of Finance.