NMDC sees iron ore demand rising by January-end

After registering an over 35 per dip in iron ore sales during the last couple of months, state-run mining giant National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) sees demand picking up by the end of January on the back of steps taken by the public sector firm.

"We have reduced iron ore prices and diversified our customer base to improve the offtakes by the end of this month," NMDC Chairman and Managing Director Rana Som told PTI.

The Navratna firm, which caters to domestic steel majors like Essar, RINL, Ispat and JSW, had reduced its long-term contract prices for the supply of iron ore by 25 per cent from December 1.

The firm added it is in talks with its long-term buyers and has also expanded its customer base to revive iron ore sales, hit primarily due to production cuts by steel mills in the midst of the global economic downturn.

"Apart from talking to our long-term customers to revive the iron ore offtake, we have expanded our customer base to include many secondary steel producers and pig iron manufacturers, which will help us in selling more," Som said.

NMDC saw its iron ore sales dip by nearly 35 per cent to 1.2 million tonnes in December as demand from domestic steel consumers declined.

The mining major is also banking on the revival of construction activities to bolster demand for steel products, which would also increase the requirement for iron ore.

"We may sell about 2-2.5 million tonnes in the next quarter, depending on the activities in the construction sector," NMDC Director (Commercial) S Venkatesan said.

Annually, the Indian miner produces about 30 million tonnes of iron ore, of which 3.5 million tonnes are exported to Japanese and South Korean steel mills, including Posco.