No quality check at seaports for steel products: over Rs six billion imports during H1

The quality control standards appear to be a big question mark for the regulators, as the country's all-important construction industry is by and large using substandard steel products imported in recent months. According to industry sources, during 2014 approximately 0.25 million tons of steel billets, bars, wire rods and flat sheets were imported, up 40 percent compared to 2013 imports. The sources said during July-December FY15, the country imported steel worth over Rs 6 billion.
With Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) being responsible to check the quality of imported goods against Pakistan Code, the steel bars are on its mandatory testing list. Pakistan Steel Melters Association (PSMA) also has rallied the Ministry of Science and Technology to include steel billets in the mandatory list. However, industry sources claimed that the quality of the imported steel was not being tested by the PSQCA and Customs on the country's seaports.
"The goods are cleared on the basis of PSQCA's temporary release certificates and no further investigation is carried out before such goods are used in the country's infrastructure," claimed an executive of a re-rolling mill, requesting anonymity. He claimed that shiploads of imported steel billets were coming into the country with no original mill test certificates.
"For all intensive purposes, such imported steel could be secondary quality but is being sold as primary quality in the local market," said the executive. Further, a source said problem also was lying in the product testing facilities in the country. The local builders, therefore, are frustrated as the integrity of testing labs had been undermined, the source added.
"Any sample can be passed at the right price. Samples that are sent for testing are often switched before testing so the consumer doesn't get the true picture. This is the ground reality," he said. Once again, the source said, the country's regulatory authorities needed to audit all such labs to ensure that malpractices could be checked effectively. The PSQCA Act provides that exporting manufacturers must get licenses from the Authority before they could be allowed to export goods into Pakistan.
Moreover, the Authority must quarantine goods upon arrival at port to test the quality of such goods before allowing its sale in the local market. To this effect, the re-rolling executive cited Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) which's tight discipline should be applied in Pakistan. Referring to Steel Mint, an industry specific publication, the executive said thousands of tons of imported steel bars were quarantined at Chennai and Mumbai ports in November-December 2014 for the same did not meet the BIS's quality parameters.
Similarly, he said, Pakistani cement manufacturers were facing strict requirements before they could successfully export to India. Pakistani consumers are believed to be exposed to a rising level of imported steel products being used in the cities throughout Pakistan.
Also, the executive warned that any mishap could occur given the fact that these imported steel products were excessively being used in various critical applications of the country's infrastructure such as high-rise buildings, bridges and dams, etc. "Recent history has shown us the tragic consequences of buildings and bridges collapsing due to substandard products used in its construction," reminded the official. He also reminded the authorities that Pakistan occupied a dangerous position on an earthquake fault-line.