Mumbai: The government is considering a request from steel producers to withdraw the export duty on steel, steel secretary RS Pandey said.

''The export duty is being examined,'' Pandey said after an inter-ministerial meeting.

The government had, on May 10, notified an export duty of up to 15 per cent on steel.  It has now sought export data from steel makers.

The steel ministry had sought a roll-back of the export duty following requests from steel makers and a decision is expected soon, he said.

Primary steel producers in the country,  including SAIL, Tisco, Jindal Steel, had offered to cut prices by up to Rs4,000 a tonne for flat products and Rs2,000 a tonne for long products. They said they would review the situation after four months of the price cut and it would be withdrawn if the export duty is not removed.

Following a meeting with steel secretary R S Pandey today, secondary steel producers like Bhushan Steel and Uttam Galvanised have also agreed to a price cut of Rs4,000 per tonne across the board.

Finance ministry officials justify the duty impost saying domestic production is less than local demand and there should hardly be any surplus for export after meeting this demand. The export duty would thus leave steel makers unaffected, they point out.

Steel makers, however, say there is overcapacity in cold rolled coils and other flat products and the domestic industry should be allowed to export flat products after meeting domestic demand.

The government has now asked steel makers to furnish data to verify if they have kept their promise to restrain exports to cool prices.

The steel ministry has also asked top producers to display prices on their websites and provide details about exports last year and in 2008.