Domestic demand will pick up post sluggish phase: SAIL

A general slowdown in steel demand is impacting steel sector profitability quarter-on-quarter. However, state-run SAIL's chairman CS Verma is hopeful of domestic market scenario improving post a sluggish phase.

It may be recalled that last year, SAIL's inventories started piling up due to extended monsoon and later due to festive season. However, demand started reviving on improved construction activities toward the end of 2012, boosting sales of the company.
 Verma said that steel demand will pick up in domestic market. He also informed that net steel import into India stood at 2.5 million tonnes in the first eleven months of FY13. In FY12, steel imports stood at 6.83 million tonnes
India has signed free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan and Korea under which duties on most of the products, traded between the countries, are either eliminated or reduced sharply.Hence, these countries can sell products at a cheaper rate that its Indian counterparts. And this did not go well with domestic players who requested the government to keep countries out of FTA ambit. 
Meanwhile,SAIL is setting up three blast furnace plants of 4,600 cubic feet. Also, SAIL is nearing its Rs 70,000 crore expansion plan which will boost capacity. Read This: SAIL marginally down after OFS issue opens