Despite being a net exporter of steel, India saw a rise in imports of this important commodity for infrastructure in FY23 of over 45%. In the past three years, this rise ranks among the largest. The greatest imports during the past few years, since India became a net exporter of steel, were in FY20 at 7.20 mt. Following that, it fell to 5.04 mt in FY21 and 4.80 mt in FY22.
While the import of finished steel was 6 mt (4.7 mt), the import of semi-finished steel offers was 1 mt (against 0.2 mt in FY22). Steel mills purchased semis for $1,313 million, an increase of 73%, and finished steel for $8,018 million, an increase of 29%.
The total imports of steel comprise semi-finished products including ingots, blooms, slabs, and billets as well as offerings made of alloyed, non-alloyed, and stainless steel. The intermediate product known as semi-finished steel, which needs more processing, is frequently utilized in casting.
The main steel mills in the nation, including JSW, Tata, JSPL, AM/NS, and SAIL, are members of the Indian Steel Association, a trade group, which has been warning about the increased imports for some time.
According to the Ministry report, Russia replaced Taiwan and Indonesia as one of India’s top five exporters of finished steel. The amount of finished steel deliveries increased by 470 percent year over year to 0.31 mt. In FY23, Russia replaced established suppliers like Japan, China, and Vietnam even for hot rolled coil and strips. Only Korea, with a 0.84 mt supply, beat out Russia with a 0.23 mt supply in this subcategory.
