JSW Steel, India’s largest steel producer, announced a cut of nearly 10% of its steel output, citing oxygen shortages and continued decline in industrial demand.
Screenshot of the British “Financial Times” report
According to a report by the Financial Times on May 10, JSW is India’s most valuable steel producer (approximately US$24.5 billion). JSW’s CEO Sajjan Jindal told the Financial Times that affected by the new crown epidemic, The company has cut steel production by nearly 10%, and the relevant measures are expected to continue until September.
Due to the severe lack of oxygen in patients with the new crown, the Indian industrial group was forced to transfer oxygen from the factory to the hospital. Jindal said that JSW is currently India’s largest supplier of medical liquid oxygen, with a daily supply of 1,200 tons. He said he expects this situation to continue for “a few months.”
The outbreak of the new crown virus last year caused the economy to shrink. India originally expected that the economy and consumer demand would both rebound this year. Steel manufacturers are also optimistic about the prospects of the global market. However, the production cut of JSW highlights India’s second wave of epidemics that disrupted India’s expected industrial boom.
Indian companies have to struggle with oxygen shortages and vaccine shortages, declining demand and employee infections. Other companies, including Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest automaker, are cutting production and temporarily closing factories.
Jindal said that JSW can make up for the decline in Indian domestic demand through exports, but in India, the situation is still complicated due to the deteriorating business prospects and the burden of the new crown epidemic on companies and their employees.
JSW is also working hard to vaccinate the company’s employees and their families with the new crown vaccine, and the total number of people involved is as high as 1 million. The latest policy this month has allowed companies to cooperate with private hospitals to vaccinate employees, but due to the nationwide vaccine shortage in India, JSW has been unable to purchase sufficient vaccines. At present, about 20-30 employees of JSW’s factory in Barali, southern India, are tested positive for the new crown virus every day.
Jindal said that the Indian authorities could have better prepared for the second wave of epidemics, although he believes that no one expected how severe the second wave of epidemics would be. “We did mess up the plan to deal with the second wave of the epidemic.” “Otherwise we would not have elections, and we would not have the Big Pot Festival.”
The epidemic situation in India shows no signs of slowing down. As of May 10, the number of new confirmed cases of the new crown in India exceeded 300,000 in a single day for 19 consecutive days, with a total of 22,662,575 confirmed cases and a total of 246,116 deaths. However, in the eyes of many medical experts, this figure is only the “tip of the iceberg”, and the severity of the epidemic in India is likely to be underestimated.