New Delhi, April 13: Amid the government move to ban exports of finished steel, the producers today said curbs on shipments could lead not only to bleeding of their coffers but also to a loss about Rs 20,000 crore to the country in foreign exchange earnings.

"A major part of exports of steel consists of products which do not have a domestic market or are surplus to domestic requirements. This material will become an immense idle inventory, adding to woes of the industry," Indian Steel Alliance President Moosa Raza said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

With export price at about Rs 1,100-Rs 1200 per tonne, FOB and domestic ex-works price prevailing around 850 dollars, the incremental 200-250 dollar margin translates to Rs 4,000 crore of loss per million tonne on an annualised basis with current exports at about 4.5 million tonne per annum, he said.

The Rs 20,000-crore loss to the nation comes from exporting 4.5 MT of steel at an average price of 1,100 dollars per tonne.

Raza said total percentage of steel exports are not more than 6-8 per cent of total domestic production. "Would a total ban on the export of steel make steel available in significant quantities within the country to ease inflationary pressures?" the ISA President said.

He said with a blanket ban on exports, what would happen to the steel which has to be produced or to the equipment established which would be rendered idle and infructuous. "Will it not be a direct loss to the national economy?" he asked.