RINL aims to double exports to Rs 1,200 crore in near-term

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) may see its export revenue more than doubling to around Rs 1,200 crore in the near future on the rupee depreciation and an increased thrust on overseas shipments, a top official of the public sector steel firm said today.

"Exports during 2012-13 was around 8 per cent of the total volume of iron and steel. This fiscal, more volume of steel is going to be exported. From the existing level of Rs 500 crore, the revenue from exports may go up to Rs 1,000-Rs 1,200 crore," RINL Director (Commercial) T K Chand said in an email reply to PTI.

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He said with ramping up of production, RINL aims to increase export composition to go up to 15-20 percent of its product volume in next 3-4 years from 8 per cent in the last fiscal. As per the company, it plans to set up steel processing units in Sri Lanka and other neighbouring countries to roll its billets in these regions.

"RINL has already entered into MoUs and is also planning to enter into new MOUs for exports," Chand said. The steel firm, currently under expansion phase, plans to increase its total export volume to 1 million tonne in 2016-17. "With increase in production, exports will accordingly increase touching one million tonnes in 2016-17," Chand said. With the sharp depreciation of rupee in the recent months, all steel manufacturers are increasing their efforts to export more for higher realisation and also to offset the impact of coking coal import.

The PSU said that pig iron export, in which it is a major player, will also go up in the future. "In pig iron exports, RINL is the top exporter of the country and is at present having 59 per cent share of country's exports. With its capacity increasing, the share is likely to go up," Chand said. The Navaratna PSU has a 3 million tonne steel production capacity plant in Visakhapatnam.