India reduced its imports of rolled steel by 34% y/y in April-October

India reduced its imports of rolled steel by 34.1% year-on-year to 3.8 million tons in the first seven months of the 2025/2026 financial year (April-October), according to preliminary government data reported by Reuters.

During this period, the country became a net importer of this product.

South Korea became the largest exporter of rolled steel to India in April-October (1.4 million tons). China ranks second, followed by Japan and Russia.

At the same time, over the first seven months of the current fiscal year, it increased its exports of rolled steel by 25.3% year-on-year to 3.5 million tons. The largest markets for the country during this period were Italy, Belgium, and Spain.

In April-October, Indian steelmakers produced 91.6 million tons of rolled steel, with domestic consumption for the period amounting to 92.2 million tons (+7.4% compared to the same period last year).

According to government data, steel prices on the domestic market were under pressure due to unfavorable factors such as weak demand and high supply. Trading activity remained low due to the ongoing festival season.

It should be noted that imports of iron ore and pellets to India in January-October 2025 increased by more than 200% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 9.8 million tons. Iron ore supplies accounted for 8.3 million tons of the total volume, and pellets for 1.51 million tons. The sharp increase in imports is explained by attempts by steel companies to ensure production with stable supplies of raw materials with a high iron content amid a shortage of high-quality ore products on the domestic market.