Indian government discusses growth of Chinese steel imports

India’s ministries of steel and commerce are in dialogue about the growth of imports of steel products, especially Chinese ones, amid persistent calls for higher tariffs from steel companies. Reuters reports this with reference to a government source.

According to preliminary data, India became a net importer of steel in the 2023/2024 financial year (ended in March). In addition, this trend is continuing – in April and May of this year, supplies of rolled products from abroad reached a five-year high.

In the period from April to May, India imported 1.1 million tons of rolled steel, up 19.8% year-on-year.

According to the source, the Ministry of Steel has informed the Ministry of Commerce about the increase in imports, and the industry is asking for an investigation. India is keeping an eye on cheap Chinese imports as China has remained the largest steel exporter to the country in recent months.

Indian steelmakers are concerned about the sharp rise in imports, and have repeatedly called for government intervention and higher duties. However, the Ministry of Steel has resisted these calls, citing strong domestic demand.

Major steel producers such as Tata Steel have noted that Chinese imports are a growing concern.

Ranjan Dhar, director and vice president of sales and marketing at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AMNS), said the government should consider restoring the basic steel duty to 12.5% from 7.5%.

«The world is not consuming more steel. The Chinese demand is not good. And the excess stocks there is causing an oversupply globally, not just in India. Wherever Chinese steel can go, it is going at low prices, sometimes even lower than the cost of production,» Dhar told BusinessLine.

He also noted that cheap Chinese steel is also flowing to India indirectly through countries that stimulate this export, such as Vietnam.

As GMK Center reported earlier, India imported 8.3 million tons of rolled steel in FY2023/2024 (ended in March), up 38.1% year-on-year. Steel exports from the country increased by 11.5% year-on-year to 7.5 million tons in the period under review. Steel consumption in the period increased by 13.4% y/y – to 136 million tons, reflecting strong demand for products.