Tata Steel, the world’s sixth largest steel producer, today hinted at increasing the prices of steel.
Balasubramanian Muthuraman, Managing Director of the company, said the rise in the input costs would be passed on to the customers.
“Globally, raw material prices have gone up. If producers don’t pass on the price increase, their margins will be affected. We are hoping that we’ll pass on the increase in raw material cost,” said Mr. Muthuraman.
He said though the demand for steel both in the domestic and international markets is growing, the cheap imports from China, which has overcapacity, continues to be a challenge.
He, however, declined to indicate the quantum of the proposed increase in prices and when would it come into being.
“There are positive trends in the international markets such as the U.S. and Europe. China has overcapacity and we anticipate that the cheap imports will continue. It will have an impact on the domestic market.” he said while speaking to the media on the sidelines of a conference organised by Administrative Staff College of India here.
Recently, the state-run National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) has increased the prices of iron ore by 11 per cent based on the international market trends. The company has indicated that prices would be revised on a quarterly basis.
