IMPORT OF SHIP-BREAKING SCRAP

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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.