Production / Consumption
For the year 2003-04 the production of finished steel in the country
was up 7.4% to 36.15 MT while the consumption was 30.4 MT. The production had grown 6.7%
during 2002-03.
During 2003-04 production of HR Steel by ISA member companies increased
by 9% to 13.14 million tones from 12.07 MT last year. Meanwhile domestic demand for HR
Steel increased by 13% to 10.29 MT this year compared to 9.34 MT last year. Exports
increased by a mere 2% to 2.89 MT from 2.82 MT in 2003-04.
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It is important to note that in 2003-04 domestic demand
fell short of production by 3 MT underlining that enough quantities of HR Steel were
available to the domestic user groups. Thus ISA member companies have had to export to
manage the surplus production. |
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Companies did not export at the cost of the domestic
industry. |
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Exports as percentage of total production has gone down
from 14% in 2002-03 to 13% in 2003-04. |
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Minimum levels of exports are essential to maintain a presence in the
international markets. |
Other notable trends have been that product mix of major steel
producers is gradually shifting to value added products as producers look to diversify
their product mix to avoid any impact of cyclicity.
During the last few years Indian steel exports have been led by flat
products – HR Coil, CR Coil and Galavanised Steel while long products have had
negligible exports. This is explained by the fact that apparent consumption of flat steel
in India is way lower than the production, making India a net exporter of the surplus.
Long products meanwhile have enjoyed higher apparent consumption thanks to the continued
boom in the domestic housing sector and governments thrust on infrastructure activities. |
