Dumping still a concern for Oman steel mills

By Conrad Prabhu — MUSCAT: MARCH 5 – Suhar-based steel mill Al Jazeera Steel Products SAOG says it is working with the Omani authorities, as well as other steelmakers in the Sultanate, to secure the interests of the industry against dumping and other acts of unfair competition. Local steel mills have long complained of below-market pricing by GCC steel producers of their products exported into the Sultanate — a concern that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has been working to address.  Adding to the woes of local steel mills is the problem of excess capacity in nations like China and Turkey, which has fuelled a glut in supply and weighing down prices as a result.
“In order to manage this risk, (Jazeera Steel) along with other steel companies in Oman is working with the government authorities in Oman as well as GCC to provide adequate support to the domestic steel industry,” said Sulaiman Mohammed Shaheen al Rubaie, Chairman.
“We hope that the region’s governments finally take serious measures to stop steel products’ dumping from subsidised or government-supported international competitors. Without these measures, the regional steel industries will be at risk from unfair competition. We encourage our regional governments to take a more pragmatic and proactive approach to defending the local industries from unfair competition or practices,” he added in the Chairman’s Report of the company’s performance for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.
Oman is already home to a multi-billion dollar steel industry, currently clustered in the industrial port city of Suhar, but with an ambition to expand further afield into Duqm and potentially Salalah as well.
Concerned by mounting complaints of dumping, encompassing not only steel but other commodities as well, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry announced in 2014 the establishment of a specialised department to deal with this phenomenon.
Jazeera Steel has itself been the subject of an anti-dumping investigation launched by the United States Department of Commerce on behalf of American steelmakers complaining of dumping by the Suhar-based firm, among other regional and international mills, into the US market.