Don’t Ban Iron Ore Exports, Increase It: Commerce Min.

Warning against a ban on exports of iron ore, the commerce ministry has said that imposing undue restrictions on mining would be “undesirable”. Instead, it indicated that the quantum of exports should be almost doubled. The suggestion, however, goes against the steel ministry’s contention on curbing iron ore exports to meet the growing demand from domestic steel producers.

The ministry further argued that local miners should enter into long-term agreements (LTAs) with Chinese buyers along with Japanese and Korean clients.

In a recent note to the Committee of Secretaries (CoS), the commerce ministry pointed out that India was the third largest exported of the mineral after Australia and Brazil and its exports have had a cascading effect in creating employment opportunities for local people, especially tribals, besides increasing spending on infrastructure.

“So it would be prudent to lock-in part of the exports through LTAs with major buyers in countries geographically close to India, providing freight advantage,” the ministry pointed out in the note. Of the 117 MT iron ore exported from the country in 2009-10, China bought 109 MT.

Source : indianexpress.com