RINL aims to triple exports to 3 lakh tonnes this fiscal

Govt-owned steel firm has exported around 1 lakh tonnes of steel during the last financial year

Public sector steel firm Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL) aims to triple its export to around 3 lakh tonnes in the current financial year, as it focuses on the African markets, a senior company official said today.

The government-owned steel firm has exported around 1 lakh tonnes of steel during the last financial year.

"After achieving the export target of 1 lakh tonnes during the last fiscal, we aim to export around 3 lakh tonnes this financial year," company's Commercial Director T K Chand told PTI here.

To meet its export target, Chand said that the company would focus on African nations, which are well accessed from the Visakhapatnam Port.

"We have freight advantage from Visakhapatnam to African countries. We will leverage this to achieve the export figure," he said, adding that increased exports volume would come from production capacity expansion in the current year.

In value terms, the steel maker has seen 25 per cent growth in exports to Rs 750 crore in the just-concluded fiscal, but its turnover stood at Rs 13,527 crore in FY'14, which is at the same level as that of the previous fiscal.

RINL, which has a capacity of around 3 million tonnes, is likely to expand its capacity to around 4.1 million tonnes this financial year.