VSP struggles to overcome coking coal shortage
According to recent news in the market, Indian steel producer Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), not halting production, is struggling to eliminate coking coke shortage problem. The amount of coking coal needed for VSP is 3 million tons per annum. The company signed contracts with Australian companies to import total 2.1 million tons of coking coal at the level of $58 per ton for the next financial year (2004-2005). It is reported that, VSP has been in negotiations with other firms to compensate the rest 900'000 tons, however no deal has been reached due to disagreement on the price. As demand from China is strong and accordingly there is shortage of raw material, that the companies prefer high-priced deals puts VSP into difficulty however a company official stated that, the company will overcome the problem, handling it seriously.