India’s finished steel exports fell sharply by 39.6% year-on-year over April-August, driven largely by declining demand from the European Union, according to data from the Joint Plant Committee. The total exports during this period amounted to 1.92 million metric tons (MMt), with the steepest declines seen in key EU markets.
Italy, the leading EU destination for Indian steel, saw a significant 48.3% drop in imports from India, totaling 360,400 metric tons over the five-month period. Exports to Belgium fell 25.6% to 223,300 metric tons, while Spain recorded the sharpest decline, with imports plummeting 51.7% to 133,000 metric tons.
Flat steel products, which made up the bulk of India’s steel exports, were particularly hard-hit, with a year-on-year decline of 43.7%, totaling 1.45 MMt during April-August. This decline was further aggravated by a 62.8% drop in hot-rolled coil (HRC) and strip exports, which fell to 410,000 metric tons.
In stark contrast, India’s imports of finished steel surged 33.9% year-on-year to 3.72 MMt in the same period. As a result, India has become a net importer of steel for the first five months of the fiscal year 2024-25, with inflows surpassing exports by 1.8 MMt.
The Indian Ministry of Steel has highlighted the rising wave of trade protection measures implemented by countries to counter low-cost imports and address unfair trade practices. The European Union, for example, has imposed anti-dumping duties of up to 25.30% on cold and hot-rolled stainless steel and a 25% safeguard tariff on steel imports exceeding established quotas.
“India is vulnerable to global trade diversion, with no trade protection measures in place,” the Ministry of Steel said in a statement on September 24, referencing the increase in steel outflows from China. The ministry also noted that China’s steel exports to India have surged, accounting for 30.4% of India’s total steel imports over April-August. China supplied 1.13 MMt of finished steel during this period, marking a 31.7% increase from the previous year.
In terms of product types, flat steel products dominated the inflows, accounting for 2.66 MMt—up 49.1% year-on-year. Imports of HRC, the key flat steel product, surged 79.3% to 1.36 MMt over April-August.
As international prices have declined and low-cost steel imports from China have intensified, domestic steel prices in India have also been under pressure. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the spot price of IS2062 HRC at Rupee 47,000 per metric ton ($561/mt) as of September 27, 2024, ex-works Mumbai. While prices had risen by Rupee 500/mt day-on-day, they remained 19% lower than the same time in 2023.
The Indian government is closely monitoring the situation and has indicated it will take necessary action to protect the domestic steel industry from the negative impacts of falling international prices and trade imbalances.
