India’s finished steel import hits 6-year high, driven by rapid growth

India may be the world’s second-largest steel producing nation but the country’s import of finished steel from the global market, especially China, touched new heights in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY25), according to provisional government data.

India’s finished steel import from all over the world hit a six-year high at 3.7 million metric tons in the April-August period of FY25, said the data. This means the nation continues to be a net importer of steel despite producing 60.9 million tons of crude steel in the April-August period of FY25.

India’s import of the alloy from China touched a seven-year high in the same period, the provisional government data reviewed by Reuters said. During this period, India imported 1.1 million tons of steel from China, marking a year-on-year surge of 31.7 per cent.

RAPID GROWTH CREATES BIG DEMAND FOR STEEL

The reason why India needs to import steel despite being second only to China as a global steel producer is that the nation’s demand for the alloy has been growing at a rapid speed, especially from the automotive and infrastructure sectors.

Demand for finished steel in India hit a seven-year high, during the April-August phase of the current fiscal year, rising 13.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis to hit 60.3 million metric tons. India’s imports mainly comprise stainless steel, galvanised sheets, plates, and hot-rolled coil steel, and the country’s Ministry of Steel is currently mulling steps to minimise import.

However, high import of finished steel has had an adverse impact on domestic prices of the alloy, according to the government report. “Indian domestic rebar prices fell during the month under review reflecting the ongoing challenges in the market which included supply-demand mismatch and falling offers,” the report noted.

China continued to be the largest exporter of finished steel to India in the April-August period of FY25, while South Korea and Japan occupied second and third spot respectively. India’s import of finished Russian steel during the first five months of FY25 hit a six-year high, too, according to the provisional the data. Russia is now the fifth highest exporter of steel to India.

During the same period, demand for finished steel in the global market dropped, and export of finished steel from India witnessed a seven-year low. The country exported 1.9 million tons of the alloy in the first five months of FY25, which marks a 39.6 per cent drop compared to a year ago. Currently, Italy is the biggest importer of Indian finished steel, at around 3,60,000 tons. The figure declined by 48.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis.