The minister at a meeting in Dhaka assured them of fulfilling their legitimate demands.

Bangladesh Re-rolling Mills Association (BRMA) President Ali Hossain and General Secretary Shafiuddin Ahmed and Bangladesh Steel Mills Owners Association (BSMOA) General Secretary Sheikh Masudul Alam were present at the meeting.

The commerce minister said development works are being hampered due to unusual price hike of rods and their inadequate supply.

The steel mill owners went on strike on December 23 and re-rolling mill owners followed them on December 27 to press home nine-point demands that include reduction of duties on raw materials and simplification of regulations for melted steel scrap imports.

BRMA and BSMOA have called the indefinite strike shutting down production of MS rods and other steel products in their factories.

Real estate companies have already expressed their concern over the high price of rods. They said rod price has shot up by 40 per cent in recent months.

More than 300 re-rolling and steel mills meeting 100 per cent domestic demand of MS rods are now in serious crisis due to price hike of raw materials, the mill owners told the commerce minister.

They said imposition of heavy duties including VAT on steel products coupled with irregular supply of gas and electricity to the mills are also responsible for the crisis.

The BRMA president said the government should reduce heavy tax burden apart from withdrawing import restrictions on ship and melting scraps.

The BRMA general secretary said the rod manufacturers are being forced to buy raw materials at higher prices due to some restrictions on scrap import and it is not possible for them to run their mills profitably.

The ship-breaking industry, which supply raw materials to re-rolling mills, is also facing a tough time due to unusual price hike of old ships in the international market. Many ship-breaking industries in Sitakunda, Chittagong have already shutdown.