KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 9): The iron and steel industry should take advantage in the demand for steel products arising from mega infrastructure projects in Malaysia, says International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan.
 
He said key developments such as Bandar Malaysia and Silicon Valley will increase demand for local steel, considering the volatile local currency which may affect the price of steel imports.
 
“The industry needs to look into opportunities from the announcements of so many government projects. The list goes on and on,” he said at a briefing after officiating at the Malaysia Steel Institute Human Resource Day.
 
Ahmad said the steel sector should also consider increasing production, as the industry is actually capable of fulfilling local steel demand with a surplus for export.
 
 “The current demand for steel in our country is 10 million tonnes per year, with four million tonnes produced locally whereas another six million tonnes are imported. But our production capacity is actually 16 million tonnes per year.”
 
“The production was previously cut, partly due to under-pricing by China,”  he said. 
 
Over the past two years, local steel millers struggled to continue operation amid fluctuating global steel prices and dumping practices by manufacturers in countries like China and Vietnam.
 
However, safeguard measures taken by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry this year to impose import duty on select steel products, such as Cold Roll Coils (CRC) and reinforced bars have received mixed reaction by the industry players.
 
Ahmad said the safeguard measures can provide a level playing field for the manufacturers, and it is a step forward to slowly reduce import and go back into local produce. 
 
“Manufacturers have requested for higher (import tax), but we feel the current rate at 13.9% on top of the initial five percent is fair,” Ahmad said, referring to manufacturers of reinforced steel bars. 
 
“These measures will benefit the iron and steel industry as a whole,” he added.
 
Mycron Steel Bhd, a key manufacturer of CRC products, had previously said that anti-dumping duties imposed on certain international manufacturers “have more pros than cons”, in that these chase speculators and low-quality materials away from the local market.