Help us to contain inflation: Miners to Railways
Criticising the Railways of hiking freight by almost 300 per cent in the last three years, the mining industry demanded a long term freight policy to make it more cost-competitive to enable miners contribute in containing inflationary trends with...
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Criticising the Railways of hiking freight by almost 300 per cent in the last three years, the mining industry on Monday demanded a long term freight policy to make it more cost-competitive to enable miners contribute in containing inflationary trends within the economy.
"The iron ore industry is trying to reduce cost to bring down the effect of high inflation and also expect positive response from Railway Board...by reducing freight," the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), the apex body of miners, said in a letter to the Railway Board.
"Industry earnestly requests you to roll back the recent hikes in rail freight for domestic as well as export to help it reduce cost. Any kind of increase in logistic cost is unjustified as will result in increase in cost of steel which will further lead to inflationary pressure," FIMI argued.
FIMI's letter comes amid reports that 46 per cent rise in iron ore prices led to the mineral sector contributing by a whopping 38.2 per cent in the inflation which shot up to 7 per cent.
The mining industry body criticised the Railways for re-classifying iron ore in category-180 from 170 from Tuesday besides hiking the port congestion surcharge on exports of the mineral from 60 to 100 per cent from April 15.
"Railways have increased freight substantially on iron ore which is almost 300 per cent in the last three years," FIMI said in its letter and pointed out that the "scourge of imposing surcharge and other such levies was introduced in 2006-07 in the name of dynamic freight policy."
The miners' body cited that railway freight in Australia, Brazil and China is as low as 0.43 paise per tonne per kilometre, while in India it is as high as Rs 2.40 per tonne.
"The iron ore industry is trying to reduce cost to bring down the effect of high inflation and also expect positive response from Railway Board...by reducing freight," the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), the apex body of miners, said in a letter to the Railway Board.
"Industry earnestly requests you to roll back the recent hikes in rail freight for domestic as well as export to help it reduce cost. Any kind of increase in logistic cost is unjustified as will result in increase in cost of steel which will further lead to inflationary pressure," FIMI argued.
FIMI's letter comes amid reports that 46 per cent rise in iron ore prices led to the mineral sector contributing by a whopping 38.2 per cent in the inflation which shot up to 7 per cent.
The mining industry body criticised the Railways for re-classifying iron ore in category-180 from 170 from Tuesday besides hiking the port congestion surcharge on exports of the mineral from 60 to 100 per cent from April 15.
"Railways have increased freight substantially on iron ore which is almost 300 per cent in the last three years," FIMI said in its letter and pointed out that the "scourge of imposing surcharge and other such levies was introduced in 2006-07 in the name of dynamic freight policy."
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The miners' body cited that railway freight in Australia, Brazil and China is as low as 0.43 paise per tonne per kilometre, while in India it is as high as Rs 2.40 per tonne.
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