Small and Medium Lighting Industry Urges "Legislation of Delivery Price Linkage System Amid Soaring Manufacturing Costs"

Korea Federation of SMEs Holds Non-Metallic Minerals Committee Meeting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The small and medium-sized mining industry is urging the introduction of a delivery price linkage system that reflects the increase in raw material costs in delivery prices.

The Korea Federation of SMEs held the 2nd Non-metallic Minerals Committee (Chairman Lee Sang-hoon) at 'GMC,' a small limestone mining company located in Jincheon, Chungbuk, on the 1st.

The Non-metallic Minerals Committee is composed mainly of industries related to non-metallic minerals such as ready-mixed concrete, asphalt concrete, concrete, mining, and aggregate extraction. On this day, to promote exchange and mutual understanding among industries, they visited the GMC business site and discussed current issues facing the non-metallic minerals industry.

Established in 2007, GMC is a small and medium-sized enterprise with an annual sales revenue of about 26 billion KRW, primarily engaged in limestone mining and manufacturing of heavy calcium carbonate for paper production.

Attendees expressed, "Among all industries, the non-metallic minerals sector ranks in the top three for the proportion of electricity costs in sales revenue," and lamented, "Due to the recent surge in electricity charges, profitability is steadily declining." They unanimously agreed that the structure of using industrial electricity at higher rates compared to large corporations must be improved.

In particular, small and medium-sized mining companies supplying limestone, quicklime, and light white limestone to steel and power generation companies reported difficulties due to soaring manufacturing costs caused by rising labor costs, oil prices, and fuel expenses. They stated, "If the increase in costs is not reflected in delivery prices, there is no solution on the ground," and urged the legislation of a delivery price linkage system.

Lee Sang-hoon, Chairman of the Non-metallic Minerals Committee, said, "Even within the same non-metallic minerals industry, there are many unfamiliar aspects when it comes to different sectors, so it is good to visit the site and have in-depth discussions like this." He added, "In this period of deteriorating profitability due to high interest rates, high exchange rates, and high inflation, I hope the delivery price linkage system will be legislated as soon as possible to give small and medium-sized enterprises some breathing room."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.