Restrictions on imports of low ash metallurgical coke, a critical input accounting for 35-40pct of steel production costs, are pushing up steel prices in India, according to a report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a New Delhi-based research group and think tank focusing on trade, technology, and climate change.
The report said India’s reliance on imported low ash metallurgical coke is structural, as most domestically available coal has high ash content and is unsuitable for efficient blast furnace steelmaking.
GTRI highlighted a policy contradiction, noting that while the government protects domestic steelmakers through safeguard and anti-dumping duties on finished steel, it simultaneously restricts access to low ash metallurgical coke, which has no effective substitute. Import caps and high duties on this key raw material have raised costs, weakened competitiveness, and constrained capacity expansion.
Over the past year, India has tightened controls through safeguard measures, quantitative restrictions, and provisional anti-dumping duties. Country-wise quotas introduced in January 2025 limited imports to 1.4 mln tons per half-year, later extended until December 2025, while provisional duties of USD 60-120 per ton were imposed on several supplying countries in November 2025.
The impact is already visible, the report said, with steelmakers securing only about 1.5 mln tons of metallurgical coke in the first half of 2025 against demand exceeding 3 mln tons, increasing supply risks.
GTRI urged authorities to ease quotas, avoid overlapping controls, and revise duty calculations using realistic dry-bulk freight costs, warning that excessive restrictions on a non-substitutable input could push steel prices higher and undermine broader economic objectives.
