Stress in ferrochrome sector creates scope for consolidation: IMFA MD

Interview with Subhrakant Panda

Prices staying low in FY16 and in the first quarter FY17 left a good number of manufacturers of ferrochrome, a substance used in making stainless steel, in dire straits. This has created a condition for capacity consolidation in the fragmented industry, says IMFA Managing Director Subhrakant Panda in an interview with Kunal Bose. Edited excerpts: 

Cyclicality is common to all commodities. But ferrochrome, used in making stainless steel, has seen wild price fluctuations in the recent quarters. How do you cope with this? 

In the past six quarters, we have seen ferrochrome prices moving between 70 cents and $1.40 a pound.