28-MAY-10
Steel demand in India is going to rise continuously as the country needs to build infrastructure for robust growth. Prices will be stable at least for the next six months provided raw material prices do not shoot up further. Acquiring raw material security continues to remain a major problem for the Indian steel companies. India’s per capita steel consumption is about 45 kilograms as against the world average of more than 200 kilograms. Sajjan Jindal - controlled JSW steel recently overtook Tata Steel in terms of steel making capacity in India. At present, Tata Steel has an installed capacity of 6.8mtpa at Jamshedpur, while JSW Steel has 6.8mtpa at Bellary (Vijayanagar) and another one million tonne at Salem, making it the largest private steel maker in India. JSW will expand production capacity to 11mtpa by March 2011, while Tata Steel plans to reach 10mtpa capacity at Jamshedpur by August 2011.
Essar Steel is a global producer of steel with footprint in India, Canada, USA, the Middle East and Asia. At Bailadilla, where the world’s finest ore is available, it has set up a beneficiation plant of 8 million tonnes capacity, which ensures the highest quality iron ore. Indian steel demand will remain robust with growth rate of around 12% per annum. The price of steel going forward will be determined by the price of major raw materials like iron ore and coking coal. In the absence of any major Greenfield project in the horizon imports may increase causing pressure on domestic prices.
Courtesy
Times Of India
28th May 2010
