Japan to help India ramping up domestic steel production
India and Japan have signed an agreement to enhance cooperation between their steel industries with the aim of ramping up domestic production in India and greater coordination in the global market, which is dominated by China.
The memorandum of cooperation in the field of steel industry, inked by India’s steel ministry and Japan’s economy, trade and industry ministry, will boost mutual cooperation by establishing an India Japan steel dialogue at the joint secretary level.
“Through the dialogue, both sides are expected to deepen mutual understanding on the situations surrounding the steel industry in both countries and in the international market, where excess supply of steel is an issue. The two sides will also discuss trade and investment related issues and promote sustainable growth in the steel sector.” said a person familiar with developments.
India and Japan were the second and third largest steel producing countries in 2019, with outputs of 111.2 million tonnes and 99.3 million tonnes respectively. However, they were far behind the global leader, China, whose output was 996.3 million tonnes.
However, India’s per capita consumption of steel is only 75.3 kg, only one-seventh of the figures for Japan of 549.9 kg or China of 544.5kg, signifying a large margin for further growth.
