Taking the war on inflation to new frontiers, the Indian government is considering a proposal to ban exports of soda ash & encourage imports of the commodity. This is in addition to the proposals currently under consideration of the chemicals & fertilisers ministry. The ministry is examining slashing excise duty on major petrochemical inputs. The idea is also to ease raw material constraints faced by small manufacturers of glass & magnesium carbonate. Soda ash or sodium carbonate is also used by the brick industry as a wetting agent to reduce the amount of water needed to process clay. According to the user industry, prices have moved up by at least a third in the last 8m. Prices are on an upward spiral globally. The world's largest soda ash maker, Brussels-based Solvay SA said recently it is considering raising prices by 50%, according to news reports.
