India’s ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited (AMNS) has warned that it may have to drastically cut back its steel output in the country and delay capacity expansion plans owing to the government’s restrictions on imports of key steelmaking raw materials, government sources said on Thursday, March 6, citing a company communication to the ministry of commerce.
The Indian government over the past few months has imposed checks on imports of low-ash metallurgical coke with country-specific quantitative restrictions.
AMNS has complained to the government that local met coke suppliers are unable to meet the quality requirements of the steel mill, the sources said.
The company is believed to have informed the government that AMNS could be forced to shut down one blast furnace in June 2025 or reduce production from April 2025 as operations are becoming uncertain from the lack of certainty on raw material imports, the sources said.
AMNS, which operates a steel mill in the western Gujarat state, has pointed out that it has been expanding capacity entailing an investment of $9 billion starting from 2021 and had aimed to ramp up capacity four times to 40 million mt per year by 2030 and commence operation of a new blast furnace in December 2025.