Hike long-product capacity: Centre

The government has asked major domestic steel companies to enhance capacities to make long-products in order to strike a balance between supply and the growing demand from real estate and construction sectors.

The appeal was made during the Steel Price Monitoring Committee meeting last week. Prices of long products, such as angles and reinforcement bars, have risen 10-12 per cent since February.

"We are by-and-large satisfied with the current price levels of steel, with an exception of long products, whose demand has far outpaced supplies. We have therefore asked major steel makers to expand their long products capacity," Kumar Arvind Singh Deo, joint secretary, ministry of steel, said.

The long products market is largely fragmented, dominated by small players, with only Steel Authority of India. and Tata Steel, among large companies, having considerable capacity. "We are concerned that realisations on long products may not match the kind of investment required to build in capacities," an industry official said.