India’s steel import to remain elevated at 6MT in FY24 amid robust demand: Crisil

As of November this fiscal, India had imported 4.26 MT of finished steel, up 13.4% on-year

India's steel imports are expected to remain elevated at around the 6 million tonnes (MT) mark in FY24 on the back of strong domestic demand, supported by government spending on infrastructure even as globally the industry's growth remains sluggish, according to Crisil report published on December 20.

As of November this fiscal, India had imported 4.26 MT of finished steel, up 13.4 percent on-year even as its exports declined 6.2 percent to 4.03 MT, the report said adding that the steel sector in India is poised to clock its third consecutive year of double-digit growth, at 11-13 percent on-year in the current fiscal.

The report comes as domestic steel players have been raising concerns with various ministries including steel and commerce over the surge in steel imports from select countries like China and Vietnam.

India's finished steel imports from China touched a four-year high in the first seven months of the fiscal year that began in April, Reuters reported last month citing provisional government data.

Between January and November this year, exports from China have increased 35.6 percent to 82.7 million tonnes — the highest since
2016. Chinese exports to India have also surged, the analytics firm said.

“Last fiscal, steel imports were around 5.6 percent of domestic demand at 6.7 MT. We expect imports to be around the 5.5 percent mark this fiscal, too," Sehul Bhatt, Associate Director, Research, Crisil.

Steel imports were up 25 percent YoY to 7.5 MT in 2023 and consumption was up 13 percent YoY to 129 MT, market research firm SteelMint said in a report on December 19. India became a net importer for three consecutive months from September, it added.