India increased imports of Chinese rolled products to a seven-year high in April-August

India increased its imports of rolled steel from China to 1.1 million tons in April-August this year (5 months of FY2024/2025), up 31.7% year-on-year. These volumes represent a seven-year high, Reuters reports, citing preliminary data from the country’s government.

Total imports of rolled products to India in the period amounted to 3.7 million tons, a six-year high.

South Korea and Japan were also among the three largest exporters of rolled products to India in April-August, mainly supplying stainless steel, hot-rolled coils, galvanized sheets and plates.

In addition, in 5 months of FY2024/2025, India imported 54 thousand tons of rolled products from Russia. This was more than double the volume of the same period last year and also a six-year high.

According to the country’s Ministry of Steel, domestic steel prices in India fell in August this year. In particular, this applies to rebar, which reflects the mismatch between supply and demand and the actual drop in supply.

At the same time, domestic demand was stable in April-August, up 13.8% y/y – to 60.3 million tons.

Amid depressed foreign markets, exports of Indian rolled products in this period fell to a 7-year low of 1.9 million tons (-39.6% y/y). Italy, which is the main market for Indian exporters of finished steel, imported about 360 thousand tons in 5 months of FY2024/2025 (-48.3% y/y).

As GMK Center reported earlier, India is considering alternative markets amid the introduction of CBAM. Africa, Latin America and the Middle East are being studied as potential destinations. According to official data, flat products (hot-rolled and cold-rolled) account for the bulk of Indian steel exports. India exports hot-rolled steel products to more than 100 countries, with five EU countries accounting for 25% of these exports in FY2022/2023.