The Hindu Business Line : Secondary steel makers cut prices by Rs 4,000/tonne

Containing prices
The move to cut prices follows a similar move by the HR producers earlier this month.
Prices of downstream steel products likely to be contained.

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New Delhi, May 14 Secondary steel producers on Wednesday reduced prices by Rs 4,000 a tonne.

The move follows a Rs 4,000-a-tonne price cut effected by hot rolled (HR) steel producers earlier this month. HR coil is the main raw material for secondary steel manufacturers who have a combined capacity of around 7 million tonnes a year.

The move is expected to contain spiralling prices of downstream steel products such as cold rolled coils, galvanised steel, tubes and pipes.

The decision emerged out of a meeting convened by the Ministry of Steel with the secondary steel manufacturers here. In the meeting it was also decided that the secondary producers will hold prices for three months, similar to the announcement made by the primary producers after their meeting with the Prime Minister earlier this month.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the Steel Secretary, Mr R.S. Pandey, said that “the secondary steel producers have assured that they will reduce prices of their flat products by Rs 4,000 a tonne and maintain the new price line for the next three months.”

In order to increase availability of steel in the domestic market, the producers have also pledged to import raw material, process it and export it under the Advance Licensing Scheme to improve the domestic supply-side situation, Mr Pandey said and added that the fiscal measures taken by the Government have already brought down prices of long steel products by around 20 per cent.

The Secretary-General of Cold Rolled Steel Manufacturers Association, Mr S.C. Mathur, told Business Line after the meeting that the Government had assured the producers that it would consider their request to remove export duty on steel products. “The Ministry said that it will consider our request to keep the implementation of the notification on steel export duty in abeyance,” he said.

To contain the high level of inflation the Government had been engaging with steel makers for the past two months to bring prices under control following which the steel industry has agreed to refrain from imposing raw material surcharge to cover rising input costs.

“All cold rollers have reduced prices after the primary steel makers withdrew raw material surcharge. We are passing on the benefit to the customer,” Mr Mathur said.

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