The value of India's copper products exports declined 70 percent in the year ended in March 2019 primarily due to the shutdown of Vedanta Ltd's copper smelter, an industry association said on April 24.
Exports of copper and copper products, including cathodes, were $1.07 billion in the period from April 2018 to March 2019, down from $3.48 billion in the 2017/18 fiscal year, according to data from the India's Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), which is supported by the country's trade ministry.
The government of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu in May ordered Vedanta to shut its smelter in the city of Thoothukudi, the country's second-largest, after police killed 13 demonstrators during protests against alleged pollution at the plant. The site is operated by Sterlite Copper, a subsidiary of Vedanta.
"Sterlite alone accounts for about 40 percent of the country's production. So exports fell due to their shutdown," said Suranjan Gupta, the executive director of EEPC India.
Source: moneycontrol.com