India’s Finished Steel Exports Declined 25%, Despite Output Rise

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest steel trade data published by the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) suggests significant decline in exports of finished steel by India in April this year. Meantime, the country’s steel output rose during the month.

According to the report India exported 0.558 million tonnes (MT) of finished steel during April 2018. The exports were down by 25.2% when compared with the same month a year before. India’s finished steel exports had totaled 0.746 MT during April 2017. Meantime, the total output of finished steel for sale by the country totaled 8.737 MT in April 2018, slightly higher by 5.4% when compared with the previous year. The production had totaled 8.286 MT during April 2017.

The JPC data also indicates that the country’s steel imports recorded notable growth in April 2018. The monthly imports totaled 0.599 MT during the month, as compared with 0.504 MT in the same month a year before. Over the year, the imports have grown by nearly 19%, JPC data said.

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The rise in supply of finished steel, on account of increased production for sale and imports resulted in finished steel consumption growth. The consumption of total finished steel surged higher by over 8% to 6.984 MT in April 2018, as compared with April 2017. The consumption had totaled 6.454 MT in April last year.

Meantime, Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh stated that the various initiatives by the current government over the past four years have brought the country’s domestic steel sector back on track. The committed focus on the sector has elevated the country to become world’s largest steel producing nation, after China. The country’s steel sector has reported a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 5%, the Minister noted.

Incidentally, the National Steel Policy (NSP) aims 300 MT of annual production and 160 kg of annual per capita consumption by 2030.