SAIL has never been part of steel cartel, says Roongta

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Barely a day after pulling out of the Indian Steel Alliance, state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd on Monday said it had never been a part of any cartelisation. “We have never been part of cartelisation and we shall not be a part of it. Our company does not increase the prices in cartelisation,” chairman of SAIL Sushil Kumar Roongta told reporters on the sidelines of a CII national seminar on corporate social responsibility here.

State-run steel giants SAIL and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) have decided to pull out of the Alliance amid fears that steel makers have formed a cartel to raise prices, which is augmenting the inflationary pressure on the economy.

Roongta said the Alliance was not serving the purpose of steel manufacturers and hinted that the company may join another organisation dealing with issues of steel producers. In a reply to a query on possible correction in steel prices, the SAIL chairman said it could not be in near future due to surging input costs.

“We wish steel prices reduce further, but going by international prices, there may not be any major correction,” he said.

Roongta said the biggest increase in input cost has been due to soaring prices of coking coal, a vital raw material used for steel manufacturing. “The prices have gone up from $98 dollars to $305,” he said.

Asked if SAIL could reduce steel prices in future, all Roongta said was the company did not increase its prices in April. “We will consider it when the need be,” he said.

The SAIL chairman said the steel prices had shot up to about Rs 50,000 a tonne in early March this year, but due to government's initiatives, there has been a reduction of 15-18% or Rs 8,000 per tonne. “If it stays at this level, then it is a good relief,” he added. About the proposed tie-up between SAIL and Australian firm BHP Billiton for supply of coking coal to the former, Roongta said the agreement is likely to be signed this month. He said SAIL will have to import about 12-13 million tonne of coking coal this year to meet the requirement of its steel plants.