New Delhi : Hit by cheap imports and falling prices of aluminium in the global market, domestic industry will be forced to take “drastic steps” like job cuts and production cap, Vedanta Aluminium said. The company, which is a part of billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources, wants the government to hike duty charges on imports of aluminium.
“We are at such a low point that if the government does not support the aluminium industry, we may have to resort to drastic steps such as job cuts and bringing down production,” Vedanta Aluminium CEO Abhijit Pati told PTI. Vedanta Aluminium operates a refinery having a capacity of 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) at Lanjigarh in Odisha. Surging imports from China and Middle-East has created a severe financial stress for the domestic aluminium producers. In last three years, LME (London Metal Exchange) prices have fallen by 35% to $1,660 per tonne in June, 2015 from a peak of $2,555 a tonne in June 2011.
