Steel industry, the mother of all industries, needed to be strengthened for sustainable economic growth, a prerequisite for rapid development, progress and prosperity in the country. This was stated by Coordinator to Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Meher Kashif Younis, while addressing a delegation of industrialists led by Ahmad Waqar, here on Sunday. Meher said that the iron and steel industry was the bottom line producer industry and the mother of all industries as it helped other secondary industries, besides also contributing towards national development. He said that worldwide, the steel industry was considered one of the vital aspects of stable growth and economic development, adding, our industrial policy needs to prioritize steel production over sugar, cola and cigarettes production.

There was definitely a dire need for promoting the steel sector as the demand for steel was higher than its production and the gap was met through imports.  Even if the reverse were the case, we would have exported steel given its high demand world over, he highlighted. We are spending our precious foreign exchange because the steel mill is closed and ship-breaking at Gadhani cannot cater the needs and is less than capacity, Meher said. The FTO coordinator said steel was also recyclable and, therefore, unlikely to run out like fossil fuels. About 88 percent of steel is recycled throughout the world and unlike other recycled materials, steel never loses its strength during recycling.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP