'ISA committed to supplying steel to SSIs'

Required quantities of flat steel products are being made available to small-scale industries (SSIs) and the Indian Steel Alliance (ISA) is committed to the well being of the SSI sector, said Moosa Raza, president, ISA.

The current prices of steel are a result of rising input costs, he said.

Raza said, "We understand the concerns of SSIs and are ensuring adequate supplies of flat products to them. At the same time, SSIs should realise that the rise in steel prices is an inevitable fallout of increasing input costs to the producers."

The average input cost for the steel industry has climbed by over 300 per cent. The international price of coke has gone up by over 280 per cent from $120 per tonne in December 2002 to $465 per tonnes in February 2004.

The price of iron ore has appreciated more than 300 per cent to $120 per tonne in February 2004 from $28 per tonne in December 2002. Even the freight charges have gone up by over 400 per cent.

The ISA member-companies have already reduced prices of steel by Rs 1,500-2,000 per metric tonne after absorbing a major portion of increase in input cost. The recent cut in excise duty on steel products, with reduction from 16 per cent to 8 per cent, amounting to about Rs 2,000 has also been passed on in full to customers, he said.

ISA has also promised to maintain the current prices till June 2004 and review prices on a quarterly basis.