By Neha Arora
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s finished steel imports rose to an all-time high in the first 10 months of the financial year that started in April, according to provisional government data reviewed by Reuters on Thursday.
India, the world’s second-biggest crude steel producer, imported 8.3 million metric tons of finished steel during April-January, up 20.3% from a year earlier, the data showed.
India remained a net importer during the period, the data showed. India turned net importer of steel in the 2023/24 fiscal year, with imports rising steadily since then and primarily led by China.
The government will detail country of origin data later in the month.
New Delhi began investigating in December whether to impose a temporary import tax, known locally as a safeguard duty, to curb inbound steel shipments.
India could impose a temporary tax of 15%-25% within six months to a year, India’s steel minister told Reuters in an interview late on Tuesday.
A sustained influx of cheap imports from countries like China have weighed on prices, hurting leading steelmakers such as JSW Steel and Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).
Domestic prices of hot-rolled coil fell by 15% on year during September-December, according to consultancy BigMint.
India’s finished steel exports during the April-January period fell to at least a seven-year low at 4 million tons, down 29% from a year earlier, the data showed.
Domestically, finished steel consumption was strong and touched at least a seven-year high of 124.8 million tons for the period, the data showed.
Crude steel production during April-January stood at 124.9 million tons, up 4.5% from the same period the previous year.
(Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Tom Hogue)
