India's April-January finished steel imports touch record high

Steel Authority of India

13/02/2025 07:47

By Neha Arora
       NEW DELHI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - India's finished steel
imports rose to an all-time high in the first 10 months of the
financial year that started in April, according to provisional
government data reviewed by Reuters on Thursday. 
    India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer,
imported 8.3 million metric tons of finished steel during
April-January, up 20.3% from a year earlier, the data showed.
    India remained a net importer during the period, the data
showed. India turned net importer of steel in the 2023/24 fiscal
year, with imports rising steadily since then and primarily led
by China. 
    The government will detail country of origin data later in
the month. 
    New Delhi began investigating in December whether to impose
a temporary import tax, known locally as a safeguard duty, to
curb inbound steel shipments. 
    India could impose a temporary tax of 15%-25% within six
months to a year, India's steel minister told Reuters in an
interview late on Tuesday. 
    A sustained influx of cheap imports from countries like
China have weighed on prices, hurting leading steelmakers such
as JSW Steel  JSTL.NS  and Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL)
 SAIL.NS . 
    Domestic prices of hot-rolled coil fell by 15% on year
during September-December, according to consultancy BigMint. 
    India's finished steel exports during the April-January
period fell to at least a seven-year low at 4 million tons, down
29% from a year earlier, the data showed.
    Domestically, finished steel consumption was strong and
touched at least a seven-year high of 124.8 million tons for the
period, the data showed.
    Crude steel production during April-January stood at 124.9
million tons, up 4.5% from the same period the previous year. 

 (Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Tom Hogue)
 ((neha.dasgupta@tr.com;))