Many Steel Wire Units May Close Due To Raw Material Shortages, Says Industry Body
Steel wire makers, belonging to the labour-intensive small and medium enterprises (SME) sector, are facing acute raw material shortages that may lead to the closure of several units, a senior industry body official said on Sunday.
About 100 units in the organised sector that offer employment to about five lakh workers in the country are already operating below 50 per cent of their rated capacity, and if the crisis prolongs, many will have to close down, the official said.
The wire makers have sought the government's intervention to ensure raw material supply, and a window for imports of specialised items that are not produced in the country.
"The industry is facing acute shortage of high-grade wire rods, the main raw material for wire production, which has varied application in nation-building," Steel Wire Manufacturers Association secretary-general Tirthankar Banerjee told PTI.
"The paucity of high-grade wire rods is 50 per cent, and it is due to inadequate domestic supply and import restrictions," he said.
The association urged the Union government to ask Steel Authority of India (SAIL) to streamline its specialised wire rods plant at Burnpur and advise Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL) and other private steel makers to supply raw materials in adequate quantity to the SME sector at fair prices.
