However, industry officials declined to confirm when they would put their demand before the government. Such a move will need joint efforts by the two major tinplate producers-the Tatas' Tinplate Company of India Ltd and the Rourkela Steel Plant of government-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

Tinplate, or fine thickness steel with a coating of tin, comes primarily in two grades. The thicker variety (0.29mm thick) is used mainly for packaging vanaspati and export consignments of cashewnuts. Grades less than 0.27mm thick are used to package baby food, biscuits, paints, varnishes and other items.

At present, there is a demand of around 1,00,000 tonnes of each variety. However, tinplate is losing out to tetrapacks and polypacks and is now used mainly in packs meant for heavier weights. Tinplate containers are also allowed to be imported under open general license.

Another competition, which is a health hazard, is the use of recycled containers, as well as imported misprints, seconds and defectives for edibles.

There is a government ban of the use of such material for edibles, but no law to enforce it.

"Imports of non-prime tinplates should be banned just like guns and narcotics failing which they should be put on the restricted list for imports with end user condition," said a senior industry official.

Since non-prime is banned for packaging of food products in the developed economies, it is abundantly available in India at throwaway prices. Non-prime imports have been 90 per cent of total tinplate imports for the period April-August, 1999. A large portion of this non-prime imports is being consumed by the edible oil industry for packing oil in 15kg containers.

The integrity of the tin coating can not be guaranteed in non-prime tinplates and it is possible that this base material could get exposed resulting in contamination of the oils, the official said. There are wide allegations that these are used even for the packaging of baby food.Although tinplate producers have been talking of such ban for quite some time, no concerted efforts have been made by the producers.

The issue has taken a new dimension after the government relaxed floor prices effective November 1, 1999. and the proposed withdrawal of floor prices for prime tinplates from January 2000.

It is feared that imports would open the flood-gate of non-prime imports and cause serious injury to the domestic tinplate producers. Imports may increase two-fold to 1,20,000 tonnes in the second half from 60,000 tonnes in the first half of the current fiscal.

There was no price restriction on the import of tinplates below 600mm width. Such material could be imported freely. Domestic producers were just recovering from the effects of economic slowdown and imposition of floor price on tinplates on November 14, 1998 had helped the recovery process as imports fell sharply from 1,91,300 tonne in 1997-98 to 1,23,900 in 1998-99. In first half of the current fiscal import was 60,069 tonne.

"The withdrawal of floor prices for prime tinplates would lead to increased imports of secondary and waste waste tinplates as these materials would be mis-declared as prime to circumvent the provisions of the floor price on non-prime imports," the official said.

Withdrawal of floor price would be a rather unique case, because no where in the world are the governments allowing indiscriminate imports to imperil the existence of the domestic industry. "Such governmental indiscretion cannot be attributed to World Trade Organisation rules, but more to a lack of proper understanding of the same," he added.