India's finished steel imports from China reached their highest level in seven years during the first five months of the 2024-25 fiscal year, with overall finished steel imports also hitting a six-year high at 3.7 million tons in the April-August period. The country remained a net importer during this time.
Driven by strong demand from the infrastructure and automotive sectors, India, the world's second-largest crude steel producer, has been consuming steel at an accelerated pace. During the April-August period, India imported 1.1 million tons of finished steel from China, marking a 31.7% year-on-year increase.
China emerged as the top exporter of finished steel to India, followed by South Korea and Japan. These countries primarily shipped stainless steel, hot-rolled coil steel, galvanized sheets, and plates.
In response to rising imports, particularly from China, India's steel ministry is considering implementing trade measures to protect local steel mills. During the same period, India's finished steel imports from Russia also surged to a six-year high, with shipments more than doubling to 54,000 tons, making Russia the fifth-largest exporter of finished steel to India.
Despite robust domestic demand, which pushed finished steel consumption to a seven-year high of 60.3 million metric tons (a 13.8% increase from the previous year), domestic steel prices fell in August. The steel ministry attributed this decline to challenges in the market, including a supply-demand imbalance and reduced offers.
Meanwhile, overseas markets remained weak, as India's finished steel exports dropped to a seven-year low. The country exported 1.9 million tons of finished steel during the April-August period, a 39.6% decrease from the previous year.
Italy, India's largest export destination, imported around 360,000 tons of finished steel, down 48.3% from the previous year. In contrast, India's crude steel production reached 60.9 million tons during the period, reflecting a 4.2% increase from the previous year.
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