"The difficult market condition will reflect on our second quarter performance ... our second quarter will not be as good as the previous one... SAIL alone is not feeling the effect of slide in demand both external and internal," SAIL chairman Arvind Pande told PTI.

Pointing to the present downswing in the market that came within six months of the previous recessionary phase, Mr Pande said the supply on the other hand has gone up significantly with the entry of new players like Jindals and Ispat pumping in more products.

Mr Pande said that it had cut down production during the previous over two year long downswing and regretted that others had not followed suite while emphasising on the need for keeping the market `fair'.

"No additional capacity should now be allowed and financial institutions should apply their mind before taking up any new project," Mr Pande said.

Most of the steel majors had planned to step up theirexports but the falling international prices and anti-dumping actions by some countries especially the US could upset steel manufacturers' plans in the current financial year.

Mr Pande also sought government support and intervention to get free access to international market.

Mr Pande said the US was a good market for Indian steel and pointed out that any action by the US against Indian exports would hit the industry hard.

A delegation of steel manufacturers led by Mr Pande and met the steel minister BK Tripathi last week and asked him to take up the matter with the US administration during bilateral talks.

He also said that the ministry was planning to appeal to World Trade Organisation (WTO) against a US ruling which had recently imposed 84 per cent anti-dumping duty on steel plates which were being exported by SAIL.

Mr Pande also emphasised that floor price mechanism to checkcheap steel imports especially seconds and defectives should continue for the time being till atleast the domestic market stabilises.

He said it was not the quantity of imports but the way itwas used to set a benchmark for domestic prices which mattered.

Imports of seconds and defectives were less than one million tonne but in the name of seconds and defectives the CIS countries were exporting prime materials to India.

Amidst all this, the SAIL chief aprehended that growth in second quarter of current financial year was likely to be lower than the first quarter unless the domestic market improves or prices in the domestic as well as international market firm up.