India increased rolled steel imports by 20% y/y in April-January

India increased rolled steel imports by 20.3% y/y – to 8.29 million tons in 10 months of the 2024/2025 fiscal year (April-January), remaining a net importer of steel. Business Standard reports, citing official data.

Steel exports in the period decreased by 28.9% y/y – to 3.99 million tons.

According to the publication, steel industry players and stainless steel producers are constantly raising the issue of imports with the government. They claim that the surge in supplies from a certain group of countries, including China, has affected their competitiveness.

Recently, the Ministry of Steel said that India has a priority to increase steel production capacity by 100 million tons by 2030 to avoid dependence on imports. It also noted that falling demand for steel and overcapacity in the global steel sector have affected the local industry.

As a reminder, India became a net importer of rolled steel in FY2023/2024. Last year, the country imported 8.3 million tons of rolled products (+38.1% y/y), while exports amounted to 7.5 million tons (+11.5% y/y). Steel consumption in the period increased by 13.4% y/y – to 136 million tons, reflecting strong demand for products.

As GMK Center reported earlier, India has set capital expenditure at Rs 11.21 billion ($129.4 billion) in the national budget for the 2025/2026 fiscal year (ending in March 2026), which is 3.1% of the country’s GDP for the period.

Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy, in turn, said that the budget will give a boost to the steel sector through progressive interventions, which include a push for infrastructure investment, export promotion, and direct incentives. However, the government did not propose significant changes to the structure of import duties on various types of steel products