The Indian Stainless Development Organisation (ISDO) has announced that India will emerge as the outsourcing and global manufacturing hub for stainless steel products by 2015. Currently, India is ranked 10th in the stainless steel production, producing 1.8 million to 2 million tonnes per annum of which, exports comprise 250,000tns. Including imports, the consumption of stainless steel stands at 2.2 million tonnes. Ahmedabad is considered the largest producer of raw materials, while Mumbai, with about 3000 traders, is Asia’s biggest stainless steel trading centre for both raw materials and finished products. According to ISDO, the per capita consumption of stainless steel in India is 1.2kg, the lowest in the world, while the world’s average per capita consumption is 9.4kg. For Italy, it is 30kg, 24.6kg in South Korea, 21kg in Germany, 16kg in Japan and 6kg in China. ISDO also stated that India is the only country where 74% production of stainless steel in utilised by utensil manufacturers and for exports.
