SAIL'S MARKET SHARE FOR FLATS UP 26 PER CENT

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Increased sale of flat products helped Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), the country's largest steel producer, expand its market share by over 26 per cent in 2001-02. The adoption of a segment-wise approach helped SAIL increase its market share during the year that saw production decline, depressed demand and plunging prices. An additional 5.5 lakh tonnes of steel was sold by SAIL indigenously.

The primary contribution to sales growth came from substantially increased sale of flat products, which was the main area of competition , both within the country and outside. In the current fiscal, SAIL has already increased its prices twice till May and was not contemplating a hike immediately though the monsoon period.

Operating in the flat product segment, SAIL grabbed 36.7 per cent share of the market which is estimated at 13 million tonnes. This was the result of the public sector company's strategic initiatives, being implemented over the last two years. In the area of long products, SAIL increased its share to 16.8 per cent, adopting an aggressive strategy for these products which cater mainly to the construction industry. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. And Tata Steel are the major players in this segment.

SAIL was able to sell 5.5 lakh tonnes of steel in April 2002 which was 61 per cent higher than April 2001. The trend of increased sales of flats continued, showing substantial increase in April 2002 over the corresponding period in 2001. The market for longs, too, had increased in April.