JSW Steel plans to export 3 MT steel this fiscal

Company exported 1.9 MT steel last year

JSW Steel is planning to export 3 million tonnes of steel in the current fiscal as sharp fall in rupee against dollar in last few months has made Indian steel cheaper and competitive, a senior company official said today.

"Last year, we had exported 1.9 million tonnes (MT), this year we are looking to export 3 MT... Fall in rupee and product mix of Indian companies have made them much more competitive in international markets," JSW Steel's Joint MD and CFO Seshagiri Rao told reporters here on the sidelines of CII Steel Summit.

JSW has added new markets like China, Japan, South Korea and US to its export basket in recent times. Earlier, it used to sell its products to Middle-East, South-East Asian and African countries, he added.

The company has given a guidance of producing 12 MT steel and is eyeing at 11.5 MT sales, he said, adding, this is one million tonne more from last years numbers and will be met through exports.

He further said the company will also be bidding for Stemcor's India assets, for which bids have to be submitted by September 10.

Stemcor's assets are primarily in Odisha and make sense for JSW as it sources iron ore for its Dolvi plant near Mumbai from the Eastern state only, Rao said.

The company, headed by Sajjan Jindal, has also increased prices of its products by upto Rs 3,000 per tonne for the current month, he said.

According to him, JSW has passed on only the cost burden to the consumers as factors like fall in rupee and fuel price increases have increased input costs many folds.