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Indian stainless steel consumption will grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7 percent reaching 3.4 million mt per year by 2015, outstripping global consumption growth of six percent to 34.12 million mt, according to Nirmal Mathur, senior advisor at Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL), speaking to SteelOrbis.
 
The low per capita consumption of stainless steel in India which was 2.1 kg, compared to 7.5 kg in China and a world average of 4 kg, all in the 2011-12 fiscal year, constitutes a huge opportunity for growth in this sector, Mathur said.
 
Indian consumption of stainless steel has been mainly driven by the kitchen and catering segment, consuming 71 percent of production against a world average of 33 percent. However, industrial consumption of stainless steel in India was just eight percent against a world average of 27 percent. The Indian construction sector accounted for just four percent of stainless steel against a world average of 16 percent.
 
On the other hand, the present Indian stainless steel consumption pattern is expected to change dramatically over the country's 12th five-year plan period (2012-2017) with the domestic construction sector expected to grow at 22 percent per year, the auto component sector at 17 percent and the electronics sector at 23 percent per year, which would trigger larger usage of stainless steel in these sectors, moving away from high usage by the kitchen and catering segments, Mathur said.