New Delhi: To ring-fence domestic industries from cheaper imports, the government for the second time has extended the minimum import price (MIP) on 66 steel products for two months.

The central government has extended the applicability of MIP beyond October 4, 2016, for further two months, i.e., till December 4, 2016, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a latest notification.

The 66 products include semi-finished products of iron or non-alloyed steel, flat-rolled products of different widths, bars and rods.

To guard domestic steel producers against cheap in-bound shipments, the government in February had imposed the MIP, ranging between $341 to $752 per tonne, on 173 steel products for six months.

The government in August decided to extend the MIP on 66 steel products for two months as against 173 items earlier.

Steel makers, which had been demanding an extension, said imposition of MIP has marginally improved the industry's viability after a long period of subdued prices.

Accelerating imports at predatory prices from steel surplus countries like China, Japan and Korea have been a major concern for the domestic industry since September 2014.

Post MIP, the industry has been able to marginally improve viability after a long period of eroded profit margins, the Indian Steel Association had said.

Source: PTI