India steel demand to increase on infrastructure growth

MUMBAI, Apr 30 (Commodity Online): India steel industry demand is set to rise further on growth in automobile, power, constracture and infrastructure sector. India has a lower per capita consumption of steel compared to other leading nations and therefore there is tremendous room for further demand growth as the economy expands, according to a report titled 'Indian Steel Industry Outlook to 2012' released by RNCOS. The report pointed out that finished steel is also getting new applications due to its corrosion resistive property. Additionally, housing demand and developments is expected to account for more steel consumption in the country, growing at a CAGR of around 12 per cent during FY 2012-FY 2014. RNCOS report said that metal products are the largest consumer of stainless steel among different industries. Besides, infrastructure accounts for the maximum steel consumption among the industry segments. Moreover, demand from other industries, such as process, and engineering are expected to grow in the coming years on the back of various factors covered in our report. Recently, Beni Prasad Varma, India Minister of State for Steel said that there is no target fixed by the government for production of steel by the individual steel units, as the steel sector is deregulated and the production is driven by the market demand and production capacity.