Mumbai: Steel is likely to be traded more through the Internet and the steel industry plans to sell 20 per cent of the total steel traded in India through the e-commerce route by the end of 2006.

The prospects for the steel industry are bright because of the rise in prices and restructuring packages for the financially troubled units. The e-commerce way of trading steel is cost-effective and there are presently six steel trading websites in India, according to India Business Insight.

These sites contribute 3 per cent of the total volume of the steel traded in the country. They are: www.metaljunction.com of Steel Authority of India and Tata Steel; www.clickforsteel.com of Essar Steel; www.steel-rx.com of a few professionals and Ferro Alloys Corporation; www.steelmart.com of Jindal Iron and Steel Company; www.steelnext.com of Reliance; and www.steelexchangeofindia.com of a steel traders group and a former managing director of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam.

Estimates from the industry reveal that 65,000-70,000 tonnes of steel is traded through these websites. The total quantity of steel traded through the Internet route was 50,000-55,000 tonnes during August-September 2002, which was 2 per cent of the total quantity of the metal traded.