India’s steel exports continued to witness a decline in July, down 14 per cent sequentially, to 0.30 million tonnes (mt) while imports continued to see an increase, up 18 per cent to 0.75 mt. With imports exceeding imports, the country remained net importer for the month.

Finished steel exports in June was 0.35 mt, while shipments coming in for the month-ago-period were 0.64 mt.

For the period April – July (4MFY25), steel imports stood at 2.7 mt, up 35 per cent y-o-y, and exceeded exports – of 1.6 mt down 41 per cent y-o-y – by some 1.1 mt. India was net exporter in the year-ago-period.

“India was a net importer of finished steel,” a report by the Ministry of Steel, accessed by businessline show. Finished steel includes non-alloyed offerings – hot rolled coils and cold rolled coils; alloyed offerings and stainless steel.

Export – Import Break-Up

In July, out-bound shipment of non-alloyed steel – the key offering p declined by nearly 20 per cent sequentially to 0.24 mt, while alloyed and stainless steel shipments together saw a 3,000-tonne (5 per cent) increase for the period to 55,000 tonnes.

During the month, import of non- alloyed steel stood at 0.563 mt, up 18 per cent sequentially, while stainless steel and alloyed offerings saw a 16 per cent increase to 0.19 mt.

For the four-month-period, exports were down 43 per cent, y-o-y, to 1.35 mt for non-alloyed steel, and slid 25 per cent to 0.218 mt for alloyed and stainless steel. In the year-ago-period, these stood at 2.4 mt and 0.3 mt, respectively.

Imports of alloyed steel, during the 4M FY25 period saw a 44 per cent increase y-o-y to 1.96 mt, while stainless steel (& alloy) imports saw 8 per cent rise to 0.74 mt. Shipments coming in during the year-ago-period was 1.36 mt and 0.69 mt.

“China selling steel at less than $500 per tonne when coking coal prices are $220–230 per tonne defies logic..... import pressures are there and domestic cost pressures are also there, which is not good for the long-term health of the industry,” TV Narendran, MD and CEO, Tata Steel, said during a recent analyst call.

Steel Consumption Up

As per the Ministry report, finished steel production in India for April–July period close to 47 mt, up 5 per cent y-o-y. As against this, consumption or demand grew close to 15 per cent to around 47.8 mt indicating strong demand.

However, seasonal weaknesses are being noticed in July’s consumption patterns. Consumption was at 12.3 mt, a near flat growth sequentially (12.2 mt in June).

Predatory pricing from China continues to be concern and has impacted prices in domestic markets as well. Imports moved up substantially while early August steel prices reported a further drop, market participants said.

According to Narendran, MD and CEO, Tata Steel, China prices are not competitive. China selling 100 mt is”not something that the world can live with”.

“It is not that they are making money at these prices...It is predatory pricing which is detrimental to the future of the industry in India. This point has been made to the government as Indian Steel Association and we are hoping that there will be some action,” he said.

Reportedly, the US and EU are already considering measures against Chinese pricing, Narendran added.

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