IMPORT OF SHIP-BREAKING SCRAP
India imported 2.9
million tonnes of ship-breaking scrap during the year 2001-02
against 2.205 million tonnes in the year 2000-01. It imported
3.063 million tonnes and 3.368 million tonnes of ship-breaking
scrap during the two previous years.
There has been
general increase in world ship-breaking with the availability
of more ships for breaking. The entrepreneurs are free to import
ships for breaking and market forces of demand, supply and availability,
price etc. determine the quantity of import.
As re-rollable
scrap obtained from ship-breaking is a substitute to semis produced
by the main producers, the flow of ship-breaking scrap affects
the steel industries but to a limited extent.
The Government
has increased the basic custom duty on ships imported for breaking
from 5 per cent to 15 per cent with exemption of CVD & SAD.
This information was
given by the Minister for Steel Shri B.K.Tripathy in a written
reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
