Govt to go ahead with zero steel tariff plan
Govt to go ahead with zero steel tariff plan
Despite concerns from local steel producers, the government is
determined to go ahead with its plan of lifting tariffs on steel
imports to cope with the domestic supply shortage.
"The (steel) shortage will last over a year, even five years.
If we don't encourage steel imports we may get no steel from
supplier countries because there is now a shortage globally,"
Subagyo, Director General for Metal, Electronic Machines, and
Various Industries at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said on
Sunday.
He said the government had held talks with supplier countries
such as Poland, the Ukraine, and other ex-Soviet Union countries
to guarantee a steel supply for the foreseeable future.
He said local steel producers should not be worried about the
policy, because the government had made sure that local steel
users would absorb their output.
"I held a meeting with people from the downstream industry,
during which I urged them to buy locally made steel first. If the
local supply is inadequate, then they can import steel," said
Subagyo.
He said the government would not issue a decree obliging steel
users to buy only locally made steel, as it believed users
realized the importance of the local steel industry's survival. -- JP
Indonesian Steel Production & Consumption
___________________________________________________________________________
HOT ROLLED COIL (HRC)
___________________________________________________________________________
Year Production Consumption
(million tons) (million tons)
1999 1.0 1.5
2000 1.3 2.0
2001 1.45 2.1
2002 1.3 2.2
2003 1.0 2.3
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COLD ROLLED COIL (CRC)
__________________________________________________________________________
Year Production Consumption
(100,000 tons) (100,000 tons)
1999 4.0 5.8
2000 4.5 9.5
2001 5.1 9.5
2002 4.0 11.0
2003 3.6 11.3
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Source: PT Krakatau Steel