India is looking to help ease the oversupplied iron market by turning into a large importer following a cutback in domestic production.

According to Reuters:

The country may ship in up to 45 million tonnes over the next three years as home-grown iron ore output falls short of domestic steel production needs, an executive at an influential industry group said.

India imported just 0.37 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material in 2013/14, government data showed. But already JSW Steel, India’s third-largest maker of the alloy, has said it will import 6 million tonnes of iron ore in 2014/15 against zero a year earlier.

Basant Poddar, vice-president of the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, said:

There’s no option but to import to meet the shortfall. We’re looking at between 10 and 15 million tonnes every fiscal year over the next three years.

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