Indian Plate Manufacturers hold Prices till Budget

Indian Plate manufacturers have kept prices unaltered for this month on apprehension of increase in import duty in this budget. Although, discount was offered at traders & dealers level, manufacturers resisted from a price cut this month.

A senior executive of a Plate manufacturer based in Central India said, “We are optimistic for the proposed hike in import duty in this budget session. We have kept prices unchanged till the budget announcement.”  

Domestic Plates of thickness 5-10 mm are trading in the range of INR 34,000-34,500/MT. Whereas, 10-20 mm Plates are offered at around INR 34,800-35,000/MT.

Import Offers  

Imported Plates of Chinese origin are offered at USD 415-420/MT, CFR India for March shipments. Calculations reveal that imported Plates are cheaper from domestic by around INR 3,000-4,000/MT. This difference in prices led consumers to ask for discount on domestic Plates. Few traders in Delhi & NCR region have offered HR Plates at a discount of INR 300-400/MT for immediate payments.

Export Offers  

Indian Plate exports to Middle East markets remain affected due to low orders from oil & gas companies and the geo-political tension in the region.

Indian manufacturers have offered Plates at USD 430-440/MT, FoB India, which is bit higher in the international market as compared to offers from China, Korea & Ukraine. Indian export offers to ASEAN region is less feasible due to dominance of Japanese, Korean and Chinese manufacturers in this region.

Considering the oversupply from Chinese & Russian companies, Indian Plate manufacturers are now finding US & Canada as lucrative markets as compared to Middle East markets.

An exporter argues, “Currently, Plate offers in US are in the range of around USD 700-715/MT and Indian offers to US would be around USD 470-480/MT, CFR US Port. It is quite worthy to export to these markets considering the quality & price offered by Indian manufacturers.”

*All prices are on ex-plant basis.