Posted on 02 Nov 2022
India's domestic steel consumption is to grow on infrastructure investment, said ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India's chief executive Dilip Oommen, adding that exports were required to maintain high capacity utilisation rates as domestic output increases.
AM/NS India started the expansion project of its Hazira plant in Gujarat last week, which will take the plant's capacity from 9mn t/yr to 15mn t/yr.
"The good thing about Indian steel consumption is that right now the consumption is so low compared with the world average, so it will only grow, it cannot come down," Oommen said.
India's per capita finished steel consumption was 76kg in 2021 compared with the world average of 232.8kg, according to World Steel Association.
Indian domestic steel demand is expected to remain firm in the second half of the current 2022-23 fiscal year ending 31 March supported by growth in construction and infrastructure sector and auto manufacturing. The industry awaits a revision of the 15pc export tax imposed in late May that has stalled shipments.
"We plan to increase our share in the domestic market but there will be certain stage where you necessarily have to export if you have to be on high capacity utilisation because you can't increase your domestic market share suddenly", Oommen said.
The focus should be on maintaining the competitiveness of the Indian steel industry, Oommen said, by making sure the input prices are under control as they determine steel prices. The Argus premium hard low-volatile coking coal index cfr east coast India was $332/t on 28 October, higher by 16pc from a month earlier but lower by 52pc from a record peak of $698/t in mid-March.
AM/NS has received approval for its resolution plan for the 1.2mn t/yr Uttam Galva Steels that it acquired this year, submitted by ArcelorMittal affiliate AM Mining India earlier this month.
Source:Argus Media
