Jamshedpur, Jan 1 (PTI) Steel prices in India touched their lowest level in the past five years during 2025, despite strong domestic demand and supply, Tata Steel CEO and Managing Director T V Narendran said on Thursday.

Addressing employees at a function here to celebrate the New Year, Narendran said the past year had been challenging due to growing global trade disruptions and protectionist measures adopted by several countries.

“More and more countries are protecting themselves to ensure materials do not flow easily across borders. As a global industry, we have to deal with the consequences,” he said.

Narendran noted that while Tata Steel’s domestic operations were not significantly impacted, its European business faced pressure due to duties imposed on steel exports from Europe and the US.

He also pointed to the slowdown in China’s economy, particularly in the steel-consuming construction sector, which led to a surge in Chinese steel exports for the second consecutive year.

"China has been exporting more than 100 million tonnes of steel, almost equivalent to India’s total steel production,” he said.

Although Chinese steel was not entering India in large quantities, Narendran said excess supply in global markets made exports difficult for Indian producers despite surplus production.

“As a consequence, a lot of capacities have been built up this year. While our steel demand and supply are strong, steel prices in India for most of the year remained well below international prices. We actually experienced the lowest steel prices in the last five years in 2025,” he said.

Appreciating the efforts of Tata Steel employees, including those in Europe, Narendran said the company performed better financially than in previous years, as reflected in its last quarterly performance report.

He credited the management and union leaders for working together to address challenges.

On expansion plans, Narendran said Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur plant, with a capacity of 11 million tonnes spread over 1,800 acres, has limited scope for further capacity expansion.

“While volume expansion is limited, we are focusing on facilities to add value to the products manufactured here,” he said.

He said the state-of-the-art Combi Mill producing special long products involved an investment of around Rs 2,000 crore, while the expansion of the Tinplate division with a similar investment was underway.

Narendran said the Kalinganagar plant’s capacity has been enhanced from 3 million tonnes to 8 million tonnes, while the Meramandali plant is operating at 5.2 million tonnes. The Neelachal plant is being expanded from 1 million tonnes to 4 million tonnes, and the Ludhiana plant is expected to commence operations from March.

On the broader economic outlook, Narendran said India’s economy and market continue to grow strongly.

“India is one of the largest and fastest-growing steel-consuming markets. We need to be sensitive and prepared to face challenges both as a country and as a company due to global issues,” he added. PTI BS NN