2015 was toughest year for industry, says Tata Steel MD

Tata Steel Managing Director TV Narendran said on Thursday the focus for next year is to ensure a level playing field for domestic companies, as the sector now appears to be skewed in favour of imports.

The pace of economic growth is encouraging for the steel sector and the demand is expected to increase 7 per cent to 87.6 million tonnes next year from 81.5 mt in 2015, he said. In India, steel prices have dropped 40 per cent in the last 18 months while internationally it was down about 30 per cent.

Overall, 2015 was a tumultuous year for the commodity sector globally and will go down as the toughest patch for the industry in the recent past, Narendran noted. Indian steel companies were also affected by the global oversupply situation, he added.

One of the biggest challenges for domestic steel firms was to tackle imports from surplus countries such as China, Japan and Korea. The sharp increase in imports and predatory pricing have hit the profitability of Indian steel producers, he said.