The steel manufacturing sector in UAE is seeking further support from the Gulf countries to prevent dumping of cheap steel imports in the country, according to a leading steel manufacturer.

This inflow of dumped foreign products into the country has caused a massive damage to the local producers over the past few years, stated Bharat Bhatia, CEO of Conares, the second largest private steel rebar manufacturer in the UAE.

"We are trying to address these challenges by providing quality certified items in conjunction with marketing ‘Made in UAE’ steel products, which we believe, would help us avoid losing market share to foreign dumping," he noted.

The UAE is self-sufficient to cater to the current demand of 3.5 to 4 million tonnes annually,” said Bhatia,  during his meeting with Abdallah Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary for Industrial Affairs at the UAE Ministry of Economy, who visited Conares’ steel manufacturing plants in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), Dubai along with Karim Toumi, International Trade Law Expert at the Ministry of Economy.

He pointed out that the UAE Ministry of Economy has been adopting the best course of actions to ensure that local steel manufactures perform well in the market and contribute to the economy.

Bhatia sought stronger support from the government to mitigate the damage to the local steel producers.

"This is because the ‘Made in UAE’ steel products are more reliable than imports. We are closer to the market than foreign manufactured products that usually take at least 30 days to arrive in the UAE. The UAE traders are keen to buy locally, save inventory costs and avoid price fluctuations," he stated.

Bhatia discussed several matters including safeguarding duty on rebars and imposed duty on steel pipes with Al Shamsi and Toumi.

After the meeting, Al Shamsi said: "We are happy to extend additional support, as the ‘Made in UAE’ products have not only gained market wide acceptance but also are preferred choice of many prestigious projects in the country today."

"We are constantly monitoring such industries in the UAE, as this promotes the 'Made in UAE' products, establishing the country's commitment towards industrialisation and eventually contributing to the growth of UAE economy," he noted.

Al Shamsi pointed out that the GCC countries are studying the options to raise the tariffs on imported steel, aimed at helping protect local steel producers from cheap imports.

"We have traditionally kept steel tariffs low to facilitate local building booms. There are lot of measures in plan to control dumping of cheaper steal products from some countries, as this puts local steel producers at a tremendous disadvantage," he added.-TradeArabia News Service