Panaji, March 3 (IANS): Goa's mining industry, non-operational for nearly two years now, has slammed the union budget for not having the "required policy direction" to restart the multi-billion dollar industry in the state.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, the Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association (GMOEA) demanded withdrawal of export duty on iron ore from Goa.

"There is a need for withdrawal of export duty on iron ore from Goa as in the current market conditions the export of low-grade ores which form 80 percent of the Goan export is unviable," the statement said.

Currently, the export duty on iron ore is 30 percent. What makes the case of Goan iron ore unique is that being poor in iron content (around 54 grade), the ore is relatively cheaper and does not have a sizeable domestic market, because of the expensive and environmentally unfriendly processing required to process it.

"The export duty was initially introduced as a measure to conserve the high grade ores for domestic consumption but was later, during the China boom, used as an avenue for revenue generation," the GMOEA has argued.

"In the current scenario where the prices of low-grade ores have collapsed drastically, the export duty has not generated any revenue either for the state or the central government," the statement further said.