JSW Steel, a major producer of flat steel products, has seen a growth of 55 % in its flat steel production in February than the corresponding month of last year. However, flat steel production has declined by 4% in Feb’14 as compared to Jan’14. The rise in production comes at a time when demand is quite lower in the domestic market; Experts believe that a favorable currency & good demand from overseas markets has helped JSW to export to these markets.
The company has seen a good rise in its production despite facing difficulties in procuring raw materials for its plants. It has been able to get good export orders from Europe & Middle East countries in the recent past. A comparison of steel production for JSW Steel in the past few months is as shown under:
As per our conversation with a market participant based in Karnataka, “JSW is expected to export around 2-4 lakh tonnes of flat steel products till the end of March this year”. This might have led to shortage of its products in the domestic market, said a trader.
Export Potential
JSW is quite bullish on the export market. Recently on the sidelines of a conference, the group chairman & Managing Director Mr. Sajjan Jindal said: “In FY14, India has become a large exporter for steel. This is a very positive thing for the industry”.
As per industry sources the company is in a process to step up its capacity in Dolvi plant by 1.7 MnT which will help it to aggressively supply to the burgeoning global market. The plants proximity to Mumbai port gives it a fair advantage for export of its products.
As per our sources, JSW currently uses Mormugao port to export steel coils to European countries. The additional capacity in Dolvi will help in increasing its exports to a great extent. The dull demand in the economy has forced manufacturers to rely on export markets for better realizations. Its competitor, SAIL has also seen a surge in its exports in the recent months. SAIL is planning to increase its exports to 1 MnT in the next fiscal. This trend is likely to continue for a brief period of time as the domestic demand has not recovered much, said an industry professional.
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