Nissan Copper sees demand from electrical sector up 15%

Domestic copper demand, mainly from the electrical industry, is seen rising 15% this financial year, Dinesh Wagh, chief marketing officer, Nissan Copper Ltd, told NewsWire18. "Copper cannot be replaced by any other metal as far as thermal conductivity and heat transfer qualities are concerned. So demand for copper and copper alloys will always be there and it may to go up from the electrical industry this year," Wagh said. He, however, expects price uncertainty to continue globally owing to speculation. "It is more of speculation which is driving prices on LME (London Metal Exchange) than the actual fundamentals like demand and supply."

At 1528 IST, 3-month copper contract on LME was at USD 6,590 per tonne, up 0.9% from Tuesday's close. In July 2008, copper had hit a high of USD 8,916 per tonne and then had nosedived to hit its lowest of around USD 2,825 per tonne by December-end. "In such a scenario, it is difficult to predict the price trend in coming months as there is no fundamental reason due to which the prices are seen rising or falling," Wagh said.

NEW APPLICATION

Wagh is of the view if the plumbing industry starts using copper tubes, it will help increase domestic consumption and will also be cost effective for the customer as it requires less maintenance. "Copper is totally corrosion-free and this would be the main advantage of using the metal in plumbing. Due to this, maintenance of pipes would also become cost friendly for customers. However, because of lack of proper expertise among plumbers here, usage of copper pipes for plumbing is minimal," said Wagh who has been in the copper industry for 25 years. At present, most plumbing fittings use galvanised iron pipes.

ADDITIONAL ADVANTAGE

Referring to additional advantages of using copper, Wagh said, "Properties of recycled copper are same as virgin copper and therefore has an upper hand over any other non-ferrous metal." Because of this, domestic scrap copper market is huge and finds wide application in almost all segments of the copper industry, Wagh added. "All secondary manufacturers, unless there is specific property requirement for the finished product, use scrap," Wagh said. India usually imports over 4 million tonne scrap copper annually. Nissan Copper aims to produce around 3,600 tonne in 2009-10 (Apr-Mar), which is expected to rise to 15,600 tonne in 2010-11 because of the upcoming copper tube unit at Silvasa.