We are hoping the government will soon extend duties like minimum import price (MIP) to other steel products as well, says RK Goyal, MD of Kalyani Steels in an interview to CNBC-TV18.
Our volumes for the third quarter were down 12-15 percent because of dumping from China, Korea and Japan and the impact will continue if no corrective action is taken, Goyal says.
Even though MIP is not available on products produced by Kalyani Steels, Goyal hopes that the duty imposed on certain products might dissuade importers from cutting down imports across categories.
“The government is still looking at other steel products that are being imported. So we hope that either it extends the MIP to other steel products or importers stay cautious while importing any product,” he says.
Below is the transcript of RK Goyal’s interview with Nigel D’souza and Reema Tendulkar on CNBC-TV18.Nigel: The numbers, profitability looks good, margins as well look good, but topline dip of around 13-15 percent, entirely because of realisations? What were the volumes?A: First of all, this is a substantial drop in volumes and as you know, it is largely because of dumping which is happening from China, Korea and Japan. And today, the imports are almost 20-25 percent in the steel space where we operate. So, it is continuously affecting us and that is very clearly visible from our results.Reema: What was the volume decline in this quarter?A: Almost 12-15 percent.Reema: And what are the early signs of how the January-March quarter is panning out? Will we see a similar volume decline even in the current quarter?A: Even though this minimum import prices (MIP) are not on products which are produced by us, but there may be some impact. People may be a little cautious while importing. So, we are continuously watching and keeping our fingers crossed. If the imports decline, then we will be able to maintain our volumes or other marginal increase, but if the imports continue the way it is, it will definitely have some impact on our volumes.Nigel: You had joined us last week and you had told us that this MIP has no impact whatsoever on Kalyani Steel. So, are you still hopeful? How exactly will we see the volumes go up because in your segment, as per our understanding, the imports will continue?A: You are absolutely right. Imports will continue. Only thing is the government is still looking at other products which are being imported and we are still expecting and hoping because it has happened on a majority of products, the importers may be a little cautious or at the same time, the government may impose restrictions in the next few days or next month or so.
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