SAIL earns Rs. 753 Cr. foreign exchange

CALCUTTA, MAY 1. Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has earned foreign exchange worth Rs. 753 crores by exporting 8.50 lakh tonne of iron and steel products during 1999-2000.

Export sales recorded a growth of 78 per cent over the previous financial year, SAIL sources here said adding that mild steel exports totalled 7.61 lakh tonne and pig iron exports 88,744 tonne during the period.

For the current fiscal, the company has planned to export items at around the same level but there would be a change in the product profile for exports, the sources said.

SAIL would export more hot rolled coils from Bokaro Steel Plant and reduce the despatch of plates from its Bhilai Steel Plant. Exports of other items like semis, wire rods, light structurals and pig iron would continue, the sources said.

Instead of the earlier practice of sending the bulk of the items through Visakhapatnam port, now the export despatches through Visakhapatnam and Haldia ports would almost be the same, the sources said adding that despatches to neighbouring Nepal would continue through land route.

SAIL which had been a traditional exporter of plates from Bhilai, had entered the hot rolled coil export market in 1998-99 with products from the modernised hot strip mill of Bokaro steel plant. Apart from the U.S., H R coils were exported to countries like Italy and Canada, the sources said.

- PTI

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