Damri Tunshevavong, president of Cementhai Holding, said though the steel market has shrunk due to the economic slowdown, Siam United Steel Co Ltd and Siam Yamato Steel Co Ltd were keeping to their sales target.

He said both had exported more to overseas markets thanks to high demand.

In Thailand, demand for steel mainly used for construction has decreased considerably. But demand from such other industries - automotive, electronics, and food processing - is still high.

Siam United steel, a producer of cold-rolled steel, and Siam Yamato Steel, a structural-steel producer, have slightly changed the proportion of their sales, raising exports to 60 per cent of the total.

Damri said the companies had exported all over the world, including the Middle East.

Since crude prices have risen sharply, oil-producing countries in the Middle East have become an interesting market for Thai steel exporters. The more money they have, the more investment in construction they make, which means they will have a higher demand for steel, said Damri.

Siam United Steel and Siam Yamato Steel have a combined production capacity of 1.6 million tonnes a year.

Siam Yamato Steel is the only company in Asean that is certified by the American Bureau of Shipping for hot-rolled structural steel for offshore applications. The firm launched its offshore structural-steel production at the end of last year.

Siam Yamato Steel has tried to shift to the premium steel market since China, India and Vietnam have flooded their products into the medium-end market.

The company manufactures offshore structural steel by order due to high costs of production, and will start to export the product to Malaysia and Singapore this year.

It will show its offshore structural steel at the Bangkok Steel Exhibition & Conference 2006, to be held from July 13-15.

Chalida  Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation