Tata Steel MD & CEO Mr TV Narendran in an interview with Zee Business said that “There are a lot of things supporting the sector and it has a reason including there have been some structural changes in it. In the last 10 years, the most prominent thing was that a lot of export was coming from China and Chinese exports were impacting steel prices globally. From the last few years, we are seeing that China’s export is not so much, in fact, it is importing steel and we have also exported steel to China from India. Right now, we are seeing that China is actively discouraging exports and they have stopped their export remains from May 1, 2021.This means the Chinese steel export prices will continue to remain better. The second thing is that due to climate change carbon cost is increasing in much geography, for instance in Europe the cost has increased, even in Japan, it has been announced that they will shut down the blast furnace production. Due to these factors, globally we are seeing that cost curves have changed a bit and have impacted the carbon cost. The third thing is that after the COVID, many governments are investing in infrastructure. If you will see then there are plans to invest in infrastructure in the US. In the case of India, the last budget had a lot of focus on infrastructure. There is a continuous focus on infrastructure even in China. So, the focus on infrastructure improves the steel intensity of growth. This is the third factor and due to these reasons, we expect that in the next 5-10 years the steel cycle or the metal cycle will be slightly different from the last 10 years.” He said “Undoubtedly, the steel prices have gone up in the last few months but if you will have a look at the domestic prices in India then it is the lowest in the world. Because, if seen international prices then hot-rolled prices in the US is USD 1,500, in Europe it is EUR 1000 and in South India, it has reached USD 1000. Having an eye on all these, we can say that Indian prices are one of the lowest in the world today. But we are also seeing the demand situation and what impact wave two will have. So, we are watching and will do whatever is right. Indian exporters and Indian producers are selling most of their produce in India, only, and if there is a demand then we will prefer to sell it in India.”
Tata Steel MD & CEO Mr TV Narendran in an interview with Zee Business said that “There are a lot of things supporting the sector and it has a reason including there have been some structural changes in it. In the last 10 years, the most prominent thing was that a lot of export was coming from China and Chinese exports were impacting steel prices globally. From the last few years, we are seeing that China’s export is not so much, in fact, it is importing steel and we have also exported steel to China from India. Right now, we are seeing that China is actively discouraging exports and they have stopped their export remains from May 1, 2021.This means the Chinese steel export prices will continue to remain better. The second thing is that due to climate change carbon cost is increasing in much geography, for instance in Europe the cost has increased, even in Japan, it has been announced that they will shut down the blast furnace production. Due to these factors, globally we are seeing that cost curves have changed a bit and have impacted the carbon cost. The third thing is that after the COVID, many governments are investing in infrastructure. If you will see then there are plans to invest in infrastructure in the US. In the case of India, the last budget had a lot of focus on infrastructure. There is a continuous focus on infrastructure even in China. So, the focus on infrastructure improves the steel intensity of growth. This is the third factor and due to these reasons, we expect that in the next 5-10 years the steel cycle or the metal cycle will be slightly different from the last 10 years.” He said “Undoubtedly, the steel prices have gone up in the last few months but if you will have a look at the domestic prices in India then it is the lowest in the world. Because, if seen international prices then hot-rolled prices in the US is USD 1,500, in Europe it is EUR 1000 and in South India, it has reached USD 1000. Having an eye on all these, we can say that Indian prices are one of the lowest in the world today. But we are also seeing the demand situation and what impact wave two will have. So, we are watching and will do whatever is right. Indian exporters and Indian producers are selling most of their produce in India, only, and if there is a demand then we will prefer to sell it in India.”
