India increased its rolled steel exports by 33% y/y in April-December

India increased its rolled steel exports by 33.3% year-on-year – to 4.8 million tons in the first nine months of the 2025/2026 fiscal year (April-December), according to preliminary government data, Reuters reports.

At the same time, rolled steel imports for the period amounted to 4.65 million tons.

Steel production in the country in January-April amounted to 123.9 million tons. Rolled steel production for the first nine months of the current fiscal year amounted to 117.6 million tons, while steel consumption amounted to 119.3 million tons.

At the end of 2025, the Indian government introduced a three-year import tariff on certain steel products to limit cheaper supplies, mainly from China. The levy, known as a safeguard duty, will be 12% in the first year, 11.5% in the second, and 11% in the third.

These measures, announced in the official government gazette, exclude imports from certain developing countries, but China, Vietnam, and Nepal are subject to the duty. The levy will also not apply to special steel products such as stainless steel.

India’s Ministry of Steel has repeatedly stated that it wants to protect the country’s steel industry from damage caused by cheap and low-quality imports. Earlier, in April 2025, the government introduced a temporary 12% import duty for 200 days.

India reached its target steel production capacity of 205 million tons per year in the 2024/2025 financial year. According to a report by MP Financial Advisory Services LLP, the country is confidently moving towards its strategic goal of 300 million tons per year by the 2030/2031 financial year.