MIP on aluminium still an option for Govt of India, says Mines Minister

The Indian government once again spoke in favour of imposing minimum import price (MIP) on certain categories of aluminium products, but not any decisive move has been made yet. Mines Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that his ministry is keeping all options open including imposition of MIP as it thinks that would help protect the domestic aluminium industry from the continuous onslaught of cheap imports.

The industry body Aluminium Association of India which voices the concern of the domestic aluminium producers has been continuously lobbying for MIP imposition since last year. Even a report prepared by MECON, an engineering consultancy under the Ministry of Steel, supported their claim. The firm published data which showed that the loss of the Indian primary aluminium producers was INR 943 crore in FY2014-15, and it increased to INR 4,283 crore during FY2015-16.

"The reason behind this was an increase in production cost and slump in London Metal Exchange (LME) price of aluminium from average US$2,317.50/MT in 2011-12 to US$1591.82/MT in 2015-16," Goyal said.

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The import of aluminium products from China to India has increased over the last one year amid weak domestic demand; yet the ministry has not decided on any step to check the rising inflow. However, the issue remains a priority for the mines ministry.

In January this year, Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar had said, "MIP (Minimum Import Price) on aluminium is under consideration. We will take a week to send our recommendation forward."