& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Steel, iron prices still steep even after strike ends

Star Business Report
The prices of iron and steel products show no sign of easing up even one month into the end of a strike in steel and re-rolling mills.
The soaring price of MS rodsand iron sheets has made construction works costly, sources in the construction industry said. They accused a section of dishonest traders of creating an artificial shortage of the construction materials in local market.
The price of rods shot up by more than 50 percent when production in all re-rolling and steel mills in the country was suspended during the strike that began in December last. The strike ended in mid-January, but the price continued to rise.
Iron rod was selling at Tk 29,000 to Tk 31,000 per tonne yesterday in Dhaka, which was Tk 18,000 to Tk 20,000 before the strike and Tk
28,000 to Tk 30,000 during the strike.
"A cartel of dishonest businessmen from both steel and re-rolling sectors are manipulating the prices creating an artificial scarcity in market," said a retail seller. "The government has no control over the soaring price of this essential construction material."
More than 300 re-rolling and 80 steel mills joined the strike but many of them did not resume production after the end of the strike. Some have resumed production after Eid-ul-Azha while some other are still closed, industry sources said.
The mill owners enforced the strike to press home their nine-point demands that included reduction of duties on raw materials, simplification of regulations on import of melted steel scraps and reduction of minimum gas bills.
The millers called off their strike
on January 12 when the governmentassured them of fulfilling most of their demands on the basis of recommendations from the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
Following the recommendations, the government withdrew restriction on import of scraps by steel and rerolling mills owners. But the implementation of other recommendations has been slowed down for administrative tangles.
Shafiuddin Ahmed, secretary general of Bangladesh Re-rolling Mills Association said scarcity of raw materials for manufacturing iron-rods, iron-sheets and other iron-steel products is pushing the prices up in the local market.
The country's re-rolling mills are capable of meeting 100 percent domestic demand of MS rods.