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India is the seventh largest steel producer of the world
Tata Steel has been ranked the world's sixth largest producer of the alloy with an output of 24 million metric tonnes.
India's Tata Steel, which recently acquired Anglo-Dutch firm Corus Group, has been ranked the world's sixth largest producer of the alloy with an output of 24 million metric tonnes reports a London-based agency.
Incidentally, Tata Steel and Corus have been claiming that their 12 billion dollar merger would create the world's fifth largest steel producer.
India-born business tycoon Lakshmi Mittal-controlled Arcelor Mittal has emerged as the largest producer with total production of 118 million metric tonnes in 2006, after Mittal Steel acquired European giant Arcelor SA for 38.3 billion dollar in the industry's biggest ever transaction.
According to data compiled by London-based Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau (ISSB), Arcelor Mittal's total output rose from 109.7 million MT in 2005 to 118 million MT last year, while the combined output of Tata Steel and Corus rose from 23.2 million MT to 24 million MT.
In the country ranking, India has been ranked at seventh position with a total output of 44 million metric tonnes (up eight per cent from previous year), while China retained its top position with 418.8 million MT (up 18 per cent).
Incidentally, Brazil, the native country of CSN which had countered Tata Steel's bid for Corus, witnessed a two per cent fall in output to 30.9 million MT and was ranked ninth.
Total global crude steel production rose 9 per cent to 1.24 billion metric tonnes, while top 15 producers accounted for about 35 per cent of the total output. More
In the company ranking, Japan's Nippon Steel and JFE jumped from third to second position and from fifth to third position respectively in the world ranking.
South Korean major Posco maintained its fourth position, while China's Baosteel gained one rank from sixth to fifth position with total output of 26 MT in 2006.
Other steelmakers in the top ten list included China's Anben (at seventh position created after merger of Anshan and Benxi), Shandong (at eigth rank after merger of Laiwu and Jinan), US Steel (ninth) and Nucor (tenth).
ISSB said the rankings were based on data collected from International Iron & Steel Institute and Metal Bulletin.
