Anil Puri: International iron ore market hard to recover within a short period

Asian Metal: Thanks so much for accepting our interview, could you make a brief introduction of your company and yourself?

Anil: Well, Chetna Realty Private Limited is a sub-company of Chetna Group, which mainly engages in metals and steels like iron ore, coal, gold and so on. Besides, to guarantee that our cooperation with interested buyers can run smoothly, we also have a very good connection with several shipping agencies. As for me, I am one of the boards of directors of the company, who is primarily in charge of business development and customer relationship maintenance.

Asian Metal: The business scope is quite huge. Could you share with us the operation principle of your company?

Anil: The ultimate goal of Chetna Group of Companies is to provide "Customer Satisfaction & Customer Delight" with diligence, sincerity and commitment which are based on principle of joint participation and expectations of the customers. I think that is the most important principle to run a company. Besides, we also involve in philanthropy. We do not belong to any of the charity organization, but the only thing we want to do is to help those poor and old people to live a better life.

Asian Metal: China is the largest well-known iron ore import country, so could you tell us your specific plan of getting into Chinese iron ore market?

Anil: We have several steps of the project. Firstly we would love to build a long-term and harmonious business relationship with direct iron ore miners in different regions of the world, and then I can have stable sources. Secondly, I will come to China and make some researches to have a better understanding and comprehension of the appetite of Chinese end users especially steel mills, then it is better for me to build a social network between suppliers and buyers. Thirdly, to confirm that the price we offer can be more competitive, I am managing to arrange the shipping issues and lower down the final conclude price. Lastly, we are planning to establish some sub-offices in China, which is more convenient for the business cooperation. Now I am still under consideration of places I am going to choose.

Asian Metal: Your plan sounds organized and coherent. So compared with other exporters and middle agencies, what is the advantage of your company?

Anil: First of all, we have a direct relationship with miners, and the contract is also signed between buyers and miners. I know most customers hate to cooperate with middlemen, because buyers cannot communicate with miners, but we can confirm that the contract is between the two direct parties. What’s more, we can convince the miner to offer a more competitive price to conclude deals, which is also beneficial to Chinese clients. Besides, we warmly welcome interested buyers to go to mine sites to check the goods by themselves. Those are advantages and I think they are quite attractive.

Asian Metal: The iron ore price fluctuated a lot during recent several months, so what is your opinion regarding the issue?

Anil: Indeed. According to our research on international iron ore market in past years, we have found the price fluctuates as follows. It begins to increase from January to the middle of April, and peaks to a high point during that period. Then it keeps a general stable trend with a slight up-and-down performance from the middle of April to June. Afterwards, it begins to drop from July to the middle of September, and then the price is likely to climb up again with the approach of the end of the year. So based on our survey, I think the price will show an upward trend from October this year, with 10% higher than that in May. Whereas, market changes every minute and we cannot decide it by ourselves. That is only our prediction.

Asian Metal: You made an excellent analysis of the price trend, so when do you think the demand can be stimulated?

Anil: If the demand from overseas downstream industries cannot release, then the price fluctuation is meaningless. I think Chinese buyers play an indispensable role in the iron ore market. For the time being, Chinese buyers’ purchasing will is not that strong, and some steel mills suffer from overcapacity, so I think the demand cannot release within a short period.

Asian Metal: Thanks again for your answers and hope your business can run as smoothly as expected! Best wishes!