Government must aid in raising quality and standards in making iron and steel, said   Dr. Kaythi Lwin, Chair of the Myanmar Iron and Steel Association (MISA) at a workshop on the fixing of iron and steel qualities and standards for the development of local steel industry, at the Ministry of Industry in Nay Pyi Taw on February 4.

The government and private industries can satisfy five per cent of local steel demand only. The country has to import 95 per cent of iron and steel products. The government needs to fix the qualities and standards of iron and steel for the market and users as the country sees a massive inflow of iron and steels in different qualities.

She said, “The grades for steel products become low as there is no fixing of quality standards for imported steel products. So we conduct studies and surveys of imported steel products. About 60 to 70 per cent of imported steel products are deformed products, she added.

There are slight differences between the standards drafted by the MISA for the development of local steel industry and standards drafted by the Construction Material Standardization Team, she said.

“Effort will be made to boost local steel production in the future. The steel prices will be high when we choose to use high processing technology. It is an urgent topic to be discussed in order to ensure the local steel production and control import products with a standard,” she continued.

Kan Chun, Managing Director of No.1 Heavy Industry said: “It is found that there is no standardization. Local steel industries find it difficult to compete in the market as the standards set for the imports cannot give protection to the local manufactures. Imported steel products have low quality and prices as the country has no lab for iron and steel products. Today’s workshop is the first step to draft standards and qualities. The Ministry of Industry will provide necessary assistance for the rapid implementation of works and make cooperation with relevant ministries and organizations. The government  on its part needs to provide assistance for the construction of lab.”